KidsPost Book Club | Book 2 Authors spread word to help out the earth

By MARGARET WEBB PRESSLER

Washington Post

“Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green,” edited by Dan Gutman (Random House Children’s Books, 258 pp. Ages 9-12)

You want to help the Earth, but how? You remember to turn off the lights (most of the time!), but what else can ordinary people do that will make a difference?

“Recycle This Book” will help answer that question. It has 100 tips with real-life ideas for you and your family to become more green. The best part is that these short pieces of advice, most just two pages long, are written by some authors you know and love, such as Andrew Clements (“Frindle”) and Lois Duncan (“Hotel for Dogs”). They are all fun to read.

Author and illustrator Lisa Desimini, for example, suggests some smart ways to get the chemical cleaners out of your house by using natural products, such as baking soda and lemon oil. Author Iain Lawrence writes about how he became an activist, joining with neighbors to fight the building of a pollution-causing power plant on the island where he lives. Author Rosemary Wells (who has written more than 100 books!) tells the story of her grown daughter becoming an organic farmer and then converting the engine in her car to run on cooking oil rather than gasoline. The car runs on oil from the local hamburger restaurant.

You can read an essay or two, then move on with your day, feeling inspired to think more about your actions. When you need another burst of inspiration, pick it up again and read something.

Plus, you may find a few more authors you really want to read.