OLD ENOUGH TO SAVE THE PLANET

An international gallery of young eco-activists, assembled to demonstrate that it’s never too soon to get going.

Except for a group of unnamed Chinese children who set up an “ecological field” near their school to demonstrate water-conservation strategies, all of the entries here focus on the initiatives of specific individuals. These youngsters range from tree planters, like 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner of Germany and 12-year-old Adeline Tiffanie Suwana of Indonesia, to Brooklyn “Earth Saver Girl” Wright of Atlanta, Georgia, an African American child who dresses as a costumed superhero and created an eco-comic at age 7. (Greta Thunberg presumably is well known enough not to be included.) Each is shown hard at work, usually lecturing or leading racially diverse groups of recruits in planting, composting, picking up litter, or recycling. Lirius depicts South African Hunter Mitchell snuggling up to a baby rhino and New Yorker Jordan Salama (both appear White) handing a banana to an orangutan in the wild…experiences that most young audiences are unlikely to have. Still, along with depicting plenty of rather more feasible eco-activities, the illustrations are strewn with undulating lines of helpful descriptive notes and cogent warnings about the consequences of destructive practices, from air and water pollution to poaching. Kirby also lays out credibly doable suggestions at the end, plus a list of relevant, child-friendly websites. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80% of actual size.)

Inspiring fare for the next generation of world savers…and their younger sibs.