Listen to the Earth

January 1, 2023
A call to be mindful of our planet's capacity to absorb environmental damage. Drawing on reports from the Global Footprint Network, Lemniscates bases her appeal on the notion of "Earth Overshoot Day," "the date when human demand since the beginning of the year exceeds what the Earth can produce and absorb in an entire year"--July 28 in 2022, though how that date gets calculated goes unexplained. Urgently pointing out that "we are borrowing from our precious planet's future," she tallies a litany of changes in policy and behavior that, oracularly, "will move the date." If all of her suggestions, from stopping the use of plastic bags to replacing fossil fuels in industrial processes with "green hydrogen," are broad, even worldwide, in scope, they are still valid agenda items and could, with some creative thinking, be locally, even personally, scaled. But an even larger list of actions in the backmatter comes off more like pie in the sky as the rewards take an arbitrarily specific turn: "If all the world's people would dress warmly for cold weather and coolly for hot weather, we could move the date 3 days." The illustrations, rendered in watercolor, acrylic, and collage, open with smoke-shrouded industrial landscapes before moving to more uplifting scenes of racially diverse figures, mostly children, engaged in environmentally conscious activities. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Overwrought but with plenty of talking points for young eco-activists. (Informational picture book. 7-10)

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March 1, 2023
Grades 1-3 In this vibrantly illustrated title, Lemniscates aims to raise awareness about conservation challenges and introduce Earth Overshoot Day to younger audiences. The spreads present how Earth has long provided natural resources to live--trees to build homes, fuel for energy--but, alongside images of billowing smokestacks and congested highways, Lemniscates asserts, "We are using too much." As explained in a smaller-print sidebar, Earth Overshoot Day is a means for tracking sustainability--the "date when human demand . . . exceeds what the Earth can produce and absorb in an entire year." Later spreads portray a cheerful, eco-conscious world (featuring wind farms and children bicycling and planting trees) beside information highlighting practices like reforestation to make positive changes. While the colorful mixed-media art and accessible, poetic main prose will draw younger ones, the sidebars and specific suggestions for actions, as well as the extensive appended back matter, employ complex vocabulary and concepts that might need explanation, including how moving the date is determined (e.g., "eliminating meat consumption one day per week would move the date 1.8 days"). Nonetheless, this thought-provoking book will encourage making a difference.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 29, 2023
Lemniscates proposes gratitude for the Earth and encourages sustainability in this urgent picture book call to action. Poetic observations about the ways the planet provides sustenance, shelter, and fuel also note the overuse of resources before segueing to a stewardship message: “We can find a balance./ The Earth whispers the way/ to hearts that listen.” Sidebars accompany with technically presented details about Earth Overshoot Day—the date each year after which material use outpaces planetary production—and the types of activities that will “move the date.” Employing monotype, collage, and painterly techniques, full-bleed textured artwork depicts dirty industrial scenes in grays, metallic blues, and sickly yellows. In contrast, vivid greens and pinks help set the stage for a cleaner future in which figures of varied skin tones bike, farm, and plant trees—a beatific vision of the apparent harmony the creator suggests is within reach. Back matter provides suggestions for eco-friendly lifestyle changes. Ages 6–8.