Read Green

The Green Earth Book Award

2025 GEBA NOMINATION PERIOD OPEN


The 2025 award cycle represents NatGen's 21st year of awarding GEBA! We are proud to have created the nation's first environmental stewardship award for books that inspire children and young adults to grow a deeper understanding, respect, and responsibility for the natural environment.


The nomination period for the 2025 GEBA extends from October 15 through December 15, 2025. The Winners, Honors, and Recommended Reading for the 2025 GEBA will be announced on Earth Day 2025. Join our mailing list (bottom of page) to keep informed on submission dates and other NatGen activities. Apply online with a Google doc or submit a nomination form to NatGen. All instructions below.


We accept submissions in six categories: Children's Fiction, Children's Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Non-Fiction, and Picture Book Intermediate and Picture Book Primary. Each year, in addition to books that focus on environment stewardship for children and young adults, we look for books that foster a more inclusive culture of underrepresented characters, storyline, and authors.

This year's GEBA winners have been announced!

Watch this short video to hear kids and young adults announce our 20th anniversary winners!

2024 Green Earth Book Award Winners

Each Earth Day, The Nature Generation bestows this coveted award to children’s and young adult literature that best convey the message of environmental stewardship. We applaud the winning authors and illustrators who continue to tell the stories about the environmental challenges we all face in a way that resonates with children and young adults. We also applaud the publishers who bring these stories to fruition.


In 2024, we are proud to award the following six Green Earth Book Awards.


Cadmus

Children's Fiction Winner

Written by Maria Jose Fitzgerald

Alfred A. Knopf BFYR

Kline Family

Young Adult Fiction Winner

Written by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Running Kids Press

Parker-Tirrell Family and Friends

Young Adult Non-Fiction Winner

Written by Elizabeth Rusch

Harper Collins/Greenwillow Books

Thomas Family
Children's Non-Fiction Winner

Written and illustrated by Emma Reynolds,

with 15 illustrators:

Natasha Donovan, Gloria Félix, Ann Maulina,

Bill Masuku, Teo DuVall, Derick Brooks,

Shivana Sookdeo, Devon Holzwarth, Anoosha Syed,

Erin Hunting, Margarita Kukhtina, Jade Zhang,

Natasha Nayo, Victoria Maderna & Federico Piatti

Harper Collins

Council Oak

Picture Book - Intermediate

Edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley

Illustrated by Jeanette Bradley

Charlesbridge

GDIT

Picture Book - Primary

Written by Shaunna and John Stith

Illustrated by Maribel Lechuga

Little Bee Books

2024 Green Earth Book Award

Honor Books and Recommended Reading 

PICTURE BOOK Primary

for young readers


Honors


Bee Catastrophe: We'll Miss them When They're Gone, by Marta Magellan, illustrated by Mauro Magellan (Eifrig Publishing)

Composting for Community, by Michael Martinez, illustrated by Hannah Abbo (Gloo Books)

Ganesha Goes Green, by Lakshmi Thamizhmani, illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta (Barefoot Books)

The Penguin of Ilha Grande: From Animal Rescue to Extraordinary Friendship, by Shannon Earle, illustrated by Renato Alarcao (Charlesbridge Publishing)


Recommended Reading


Dear Earth, by Isabel Otter, illustrated by Clara Anganuzzi (Tiger Tales)

Every Little Seed, by Cynthia Schumerth, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (Sleeping Bear Press)

Great Carrier Reef, by Jessica Stremer, illustrated by Gordy Wright (Holiday House)

If the Rivers Run Free, by Andrea Debbink, illustrated by Nicole Wong (Sleeping Bear Press)

Listen to the Earth: Caring for Our Planet, by Carme Lemniscates, illustrated by Carme Lemniscates (Tilbury House Publishers)

Mnoomin maan'gowing / The Gift of Mnoomin, by Brittany Luby, illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Groundwood Books Ltd.)

The City Tree, by Shira Boss, illustrated by Lorena Alvarez (Harper Collins)

The Girl Who Heard the Music, by Marni Fogelson with Mahani Teave, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns (Sourcebooks)

The Planet We Call Home, by Aimee Isaac, illustrated by Jaime Kim (Philomel/Penguin Young Readers/Penguin Random House)





PICTURE BOOK Intermediate

for young readers


Honors


Armando's Island, by Marsha Diane Arnold, illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert (The Creative Company)

The Tree and the River, by Aaron Becker, illustrated by Aaron Becker (Candlewick Press)

The Mellons Build a House, by Robin Jacobs, illustrated by Nik Neves (Cicada Books)

The Book of Turtles, by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Matt Patterson (Harper Collins)


Recommended Reading


A Day in the Life of the Desert: 6 Desert Habitats, 108 Species, and How to Save Them, by Roxie Munro, illustrated by Roxie Munro (Holiday House)

Border Crossing, by Sneed B. Collard III, illustrated by Howard Gray (Charlesbridge Publishing)

How Birds Sleep, by David Obuchowski, illustrated by Sarah Pedry (mineditions)

My Grandfather's Song, by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên, illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên (Make Me a World)

Rooting for Plants, by Janice N. Harrington, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III (Calkins Creek)

The Forest Keeper–The True Story of Jadav Payeng, by Rina Singh, illustrated by Ishita Jain (NorthSouth Books)

The Last Plastic Straw: A Plastic Problem and Finding Ways to Fix It, by Dee Romito, illustrated by Ziyue Chen (Holiday House)

The Ocean Is More Than a Home for Fish, by Robert E. Wells, illustrated by Patrick Corrigan (Albert Whitman & Co.)

Wind Power, by Laura Driscoll, illustrated by Marco Guadalupi (Kane Press)



CHILDREN’S FICTION

for young readers up to age 12


Honors


Race for the Ruby Turtle, by Stephen Bramucci (Bloomsbury Publishing)

The Girl Who Lost a Leopard, by Nizrana Farook (Peachtree)

Team Trash: A Time Traveler's Guide to Sustainability, by Kate Wheeler and Trent Huntington, illustrated by Kate Wheeler (Holiday House)


Recommended Reading


Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade, by Kimberly Behre Kenna (Fitzroy Books, imprint of Regal House)

At the Edge of the Ice, by Carolyn Armstrong, illustrated by Christine Kettner (Carolyn Armstrong Books)

Flying Up the Mountain, by Elizabeth-Irene Baitie (W. W. Norton)

Naomi Nash: Saving Snakes, by Jessica Lee Anderson, illustrated by Alejandra Barajas (Capstone/Picture Window Books)

OceanX Book 1: Mystery at the Aquarium, by Kate Jerome, illustrated by Francesca Risoldi (Weldon Owen Children's Books)

Secrets of the Sky #2 -The Poison Waves, by Sayantani DasGupta (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.)

White House Clubhouse, by Sean O'Brien, illustrated by Karyn Lee (W. W. Norton)


CHILDREN’S NON FICTION

for readers up to age 21


Honors


Climate Warriors: Fourteen Scientists and Fourteen Ways We Can Save Our Planet, by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Laura K. Westlund (Lerner Publishing Group)

Mission: Arctic, by Katharina Weiss-Tuider, illustrated by Christian Schneider (Greystone Kids)

Water! by Lisa M. Gerry (Disney Publishing/National Geographic Kids)


Recommended Reading


Climate: Our Changing World, by Andy Sima, illustrated by Jenny Miriam (Albert Whitman & Co.)

Good Food Bad Waste: Let's Eat for the Planet, by Erin Silver, illustrated by Suharu Ogawa (Orca Book Publishers)

Less is More: Join the Low-Waste Movement, by Leah Payne (Orca Book Publishers)

Polar, L.E. Carmichael, illustrated Byron Eggenschwiler (Kids Can Press)

Restoring Prairie, Woods, and Pond: How a Small Trail Can Make a Big Difference, by Laurie Lawlor (Holiday House)

The Forest in the Sea: Seaweed Solutions to Planetary Problems, by Anita Sanchez (Holiday House)

The Great Giraffe Rescue: Saving the Nubian Giraffes, by Sandra Markle (Lerner Publishing Group)


YOUNG ADULT FICTION

for readers from age 13 to 21


Honors


Everything In Its Path, by Max Howard (Enslow Publishing)

Girl Out of Time, by Clyde Boyer, illustrated by David Fassett and Clyde Boyer (Girl Friday Books)

Recommended Reading


Tales of the Urban Wild: A Puma's Journey, by Tiffany Yap, illustrated by Meital Smith (Reverberations Books)



YOUNG ADULT NON FICTION

for readers from age 13 to 21


Honors


Breaking the Mold: Changing the Face of Climate Science, by Dana Alison Levy (Holiday House)

Hidden Systems, by Dan Nott (Random House Graphic)


Recommended Reading


Grizzly Bears: Guardians of the Wilderness, by Frances Backhouse (Orca Book Publishers)

Indigenous Ingenuity, by Deidre Havrelock and Edward Kay, illustrated by Kalila Fuller (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)


2024Judging 


The 2024 Green Earth Book Award judges are literary, environmental, and educational professionals who volunteer their time to review the books. In 2024, our judges reviewed over 100 books in six categories! Several judges serve on more than one panel and review in multiple categories. Many have served on our panel for years.


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 in science fields and for the National Wildlife Federation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. We believe the mix of experience, education, and participation on our panels enhances the overall review process.


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

2024 Green Earth Book Award Judges

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


Darby Bade, Principal GDIT


Tish Blessing, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher


Niya Brown, Clinical Faculty, Salisbury University


Ellen Claussen,


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


Paula Dillon, Librarian, Loudoun County, VA


Karen Fitzsimmons, Librarian, Retired


Stephen Ford, Curriculum Resource Center Director, Salisbury University


Doris Gebel, Children's Literature Consultant


Debra Wolf Goldstein, Executive Director, One Little Earth


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


Grace Hao, 12th Grade High School Student


Dr. Yuan He, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, Stephen F. Austin State University


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


Adriane Lam, Presidential Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies, Binghamton University SUN

Isaac Larison, Associate Professor, Literacy Education, Marshall University


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


Jennifer McColl, Contract Management Specialist


Cynthia McDermott, Literary Professor, Retired


Gretchen McRoberts, Artist/Naturalist


Terry McTigue, NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science


Margy Meeks, Librarian, Retired


Elizabeth Myers, 1st Grade Teacher, Talbot County, MD


Char Moffit, Assistant Professor of Education, California State University Chico


Jennifer Noonan, Children's Librarian, Lewes Public Library


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


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


Dr. Gurupriya Ramanathan, Assistant Professor, Department of Early & Elementary Education, Salisbury University


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


Chris Schmidt, Librarian, Retired


Autumn Smith, Reading Specialist, Patapsco Middle School


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


Sharryn Larsen Walker, 2023 CWU Distinguished Professor for Service
Professor, Central Washington University


Cindy Woodruff, Librarian, Retired


Apply for GEBA

The nomination period for the 2024 Green Earth Book Award has CLOSED. Please join our mailing list (below) to be notified about award submission dates, schedules, and updates. GEBA 2025 nomination period will open in fall 2024.

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