Read Green

The Green Earth Book Award

2022 GREEN EARTH BOOK AWARD NOMINATION PERIOD OPEN

The Nature Generation in partnership with Salisbury University is excited to announce the nomination period for the 2022 GEBA is now open! This year, we are accepting submissions in five categories: Cadmus Children's Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Children's Nonfiction, Young Adult Nonfiction, and Picture Book. Additionally, we are also looking for books that foster a more inclusive culture of underrepresented characters and/or storyline within the work.

Submissions are due by December 31, 2021. Winners will be announced on Earth Day 2022.

We are proud to have created the nation's first environmental stewardship award for children and young adults 17 years ago. GEBA promotes books that inspire youth to grow a deeper understanding, respect, and responsibility for the natural environment. We look forward to this year's submissions. Please contact us with any questions.

This year's winners have been announced!

The Nature Generation Board Chair Ian Kline and family.

2024 Green Earth Book Award Winners

The Nature Generation is pleased to announce our 2024 Green Earth Book Award winners. Each Earth Day, we bestow this award to children’s and young adult literature that best convey the message of environmental stewardship. We applaud the winning authors who continue to tell the stories about the environmental challenges we all face in a way that resonates with children and young adults. 


Picture Book 2021 

Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies


Written by Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Meilo So 
(Chronicle Books)

A story about migration and immigration, and about how children can make a real difference in conservation and advocacy.

Change aname

Book by Author


Written by Michele Weber Hurwitz
(Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Children's Book Publisher)


A girl discovers she can communicate with her favorite lake. When an algae bloom threatens to harm the lake, she and her friends must find a way to save it. It is a story of activism, community, and environment.

Children and Young Adult Non-fiction 2021

You Can Change the World:

The Kids' Guide to a Better Planet 


Written by Lucy Bell
(Andrews McMeel Publishing)

Empowers kids of all ages to make changes in their lives and communities with the powerful message that they can make a difference in the world.

Young Adult Fiction 2021

Bright Shining World




Written by Josh Swiller
 (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children's Book) 

In this novel of resistance, young people find hope, courage, and community in a collapsing world.

2021 Green Earth Book Award

Honor Books and Recommended Reading 

PICTURE BOOK

for young readers


Honors


Rocket Says Clean Up!, written by Nathan Byron, illustrated by Dapo Adeola (Random House BFYR)


One Little Bag, written by Henry Cole (Scholastic)


One Little Lot: The 1-2-3s of an Urban Garden, written by Diane C. Mullen (Charlesbridge Publishing)


ABC for Me: ABC Earth-Friendly Me, written by Christiane Engel (Walter Foster Jr.)



Recommended Reading


The Lion Queens of India, written and illustrated by Jan Reynolds (Lee and Low Books)


Earth Hour: A Lights-Out Event for Our Planet, written by Nanette Heffernan (Charlesbridge Publishing)


It's Only One, written by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Tony Neal (Tiger Tales)


Honeybee, written by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Holiday House)


We Are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)


Solar Story, written by Allan Drummond (Farrar Straus Giroux BYR / Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)


Let's Save Our Planet: Forests, written by Jess French (Ivy Kids)

CADMUS CHILDREN’S FICTION

for young readers up to age 12


Honors


Music for Tigers, written by Michelle Kadarusman (Pajama Press)


The Queen Bee and Me, written by Gillian McDunn (Bloomsbury Children's Books)


Eco Rangers: Pelican in Peril, written by Candice Lemon-Scott, illustrated by Aska (New Frontier Publishing)


Recommended Reading


Stella Diaz Never Gives Up, written by Angela Domingeuz (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)


A Whale of the Wild, written by Rosanne Parry, illustrated by Lindsay Moore (HarperCollins Children's Books/Greenwillow)


The Silver Arrow, written by Lev Grossman, illustrated by Tracy Nishimura Bishop (Hachette Book Group - Little Brown Books for Young Readers)


The Endangereds, written by Philippe Cousteau, illustrated by James Madsen (HarperCollins Children's Books)


AstroNuts Mission Two: The Water Planet, written by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Steven Weinberg (Chronicle Books)


Cast Away, written by Naomi Shihab Nye (HarperCollins Children's Books/Greenwillow)

CHILDREN’S and YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION

for readers from infancy to age 21


Honors


One Earth: People of Color Protecting the Planet, written by Anuradha Rao (Orca Book Publishers)


Condor Comeback, written by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Tianne Strombeck

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)


Kids vs. Plastics, written by Julie Beer (National Geographic Kids Publishing)



Recommended Reading


Tracking Pythons: The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save an Ecosystem, written by Kate Messner

Lerner Publishing Group / Millbrook Press


Plastic Sea: A Bird's-eye View, written by Kirsti Blom and Geir Wing Gabrielsen (WunderMill Books)


Bird's-Eye View: Keeping Wild Birds in Flight, written by Ann Eriksson (Orca Book Publishers)


Chemical World: Science in Our Daily Lives, written by Rowena Rae (Orca Book Publishers)


Sea Otters: A Survival Story, written by Isabelle Groc (Orca Book Publishers)


If You Take Away the Otter, written by Susannah Buhrman-Deever, illustrated by Matthew Trueman (Candlewick Press)


Kids Fight Plastic: How to Be a #2minutesuperhero, written by Martin Dorey, illustrated by Tim Wesson (Candlewick Press)


Marjory Saves the Everglades, written by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)


Extreme Ocean, written by Sylvia Earle 

National Geographic Kids Publishing


Life in a Frozen World: Wildlife of Antarctica, written by Mary Batten, illustrated by Thomas Gonzales (Peachtree Publishing)

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

for readers from age 13 to 21


Honors


Three Days till EOC: A Novella, written by Abhimanyu Sukhdial (Stone Soup / Children's Art Foundation)


2021 Judging 


The 2021 Green Earth Book Award judges are literary, environmental, and educational professionals who volunteer their time to review the books. In 2021, our judges reviewed 74 books in four categories. Some judges review in multiple categories. Most have served on our panel for years and several others are new this year.


The caliber of our judges' professional experience benefits the Green Earth Book Award. Our vetted panel comprises university professors of children's literature and teacher education, high school teachers, environmental educators, and authors. We have several librarians who work in county and school libraries. NatGen judges work in the information technology sector and several who support the federal government in environmental management and consulting. We also have multiple judges who work for the National Wildlife Federation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. This year we complement our long-term judges with new judges. We believe the mix of experience enhances the overall review process.


Judges review books using an established set of award criteria per category. The criteria captures a book's environmental concepts such as environmental stewardship, the celebration of nature, defending the environment, as well as awareness and inspiration.

2021 Green Earth Book Award Judges

Patty Dean, Panel Chair, Associate Professor in Teacher Education, Salisbury University


Darby Bade, Principal GDIT


Sharon Brown, Librarian specializing in Children's Services; Substitute Teacher


Cathrene Connery, Associate Professor of Literacy and Children's Literature, Salisbury University


Paula Dillon, Librarian, Loudoun County


Josh Falk, Manager for Kids and Nature, National Wildlife Federation


Doris Gebel, Children's Literature Consultant


Nick Glass, Founder and Executive Director, TeachingBooks.net


Sarah Mulhern Gross, High School English Teacher/Emphasis on Science and Literacy


Jen Cullerton Johnson, Author


Ian Kline, President and CEO, The Cadmus Group


Lydia Kline, Science Policy Analyst, National Institutes of Health


Louisa Koch, Education Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Renee' Critcher Lyons, Professor, East Tennessee State University; 2019 YALSA Nonfiction Award


Cynthia McDermott, Director of the Education Department, Antioch University


Terry McTigue, NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science


Margy Meeks, Retired Librarian


Carter Newton, IT Sales (for the Air Force)


Jennifer Noonan, Librarian


Cindy Olson, Art Director for Ranger Rick Magazines National Wildlife Federation,


Maren Ostergard, Early Literacy/Outreach Librarian, King County Library System


Sharon Sheridan, GFWC Education Community Service Program Chairman; Retired Librarian


Tamara Teaff, Retired Librarian, Virginia Reader's Choice Committee


Oliva Walton, Environmental Educator


Cindy Woodruff, Retired Librarian



2020 Green Earth Book Award Winners

For the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020, we applauded and awarded winning authors that motivated youth by shining a light on the environmental challenges that we continue to face. These books were a great resource to educators and parents during Earth Day and all year long. 


Picture Book 2020 

Mario and the Hole in the Sky, How a Chemist Saved Our Planet


Written by Elizabeth Rusch and illustrated by Teresa Martinez (Charlesbridge)


The true story of how a Mexican American scientist saved the planet form environmental disaster.

Cadmus Children’s Fiction 2020

Out of My Shell


Written by Jenny Goebel

(Scholastic) 


A young girl’s story of friendship, family, and finding the courage to stand up for her favorite animal, the sea turtle. 

Children and Young Adult

Non-fiction 2020

Giraffe Extinction 


Written by Tanya Anderson

(Lerner Publishing Group/21 Centure Books 


Examines the dangers giraffes face from humans and climate change; introduces readers to giraffe habitats, lifecycles, and characteristics; and introduces the scientist working to conserve them. 

Young Adult Fiction 2020

The Confusion of Laurel Graham


Written by Adrienne Kisner

 (Feiwel and Friends) 


A teenager dives into the world of birding and land conservation as a way to cope with her grandmother’s car accident.  

2020 Green Earth Book Award

Honor Books and Recommended Reading 

PICTURE BOOK

for young readers


Honors


The Boy Who Grew a Forest, written by Sophia Gholz and illustrated by Kayla Harren (Sleeping Bear Press)


I Am Farmer, written by Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon (Learner Publishing Group/Millbook Press)


Recommended Reading


Greta and the Giants, Zoe Tucker, Ill: Zoe Persico (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)


A Voice for the Spirit Bears: How One Boy Inspired Millions to Save a Rare Animal, Carmen Oliver, Ill: Katie Dockrill (Kids Can Press)


Wild Horse Annie, Tracey Fern, Ill: Steven Salerno (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)


Crab Cake, Andrea Tsurumi (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers)


If Elephants Disappeared, Lily Williams (Macmillian Children’s Publishing Group)

CADMUS CHILDREN’S FICTION

for young readers up to age 12


Honors


A Circle of Elephants, written by Eric Dinerstein (Disney Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group)


Badir and the Beaver, written by Shannon Stewart and illustrated by Sabrina Gendron (Orca Book Publishers)


Recommended Reading


Street Shadows, Claire Gilchrist (Dundurn)


Bee the Change, James Preller (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers)


The Nature Club Series, Rachel Mazur, Ill: Elettra Cudignotto (cover) and Rachelle Dyer (inside illustrations) (Wild Bear Press)


Cougar Frenzy, Pamela McDowell, Ill: Kasia Charko (Orca Book Publishers)


Tree of Dreams, Laura Resau (Scholastic)


Acadia Files, Katie Coppens, Ill:
Holly Hatam (Tilbury House)

CHILDREN’S and YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION

for readers from infancy to age 21


Honors


Orcas Everywhere: The Mystery and History of Killer Whales, written by Mark Leiren-Young (Orca Book Publishers)


Home Sweet Neighborhood: Transforming Cities One Block at a Time, written by Michelle Mulder (Orca Book Publishers)


Recommended Reading


Gone Is Gone: Wildlife Under Threat, Isabelle Groc (Orca Book Publishers)


How Long Does It Take for Trash to Decompose?, Emily Hudd (Capstone Press/Capstone)


Solutions for a Cleaner Greener Planet, Marc Zimmer (Lerner Publishing Group/21st Century Books)


Survival, Louise McNaught, Anna Claybourne, Ill: Louise McNaught (Running Press Kids)

YOUNG ADULT FICTION

for readers from age 13 to 21


Honors


The Casket of Time, written by Andri Snaer Magnason (Restless Books)

Apply for GEBA

NatGen has just completed the 2021 Green Earth Book Award submission, review, and award process. We will begin our 2022 Green Earth Book Award process in late summer. Please check back periodically or join our mailing list to be notified about award submission dates and schedules. 

Contact Us

Thank you for subscribing!

Share by: