'The Problem with Plastic.' Children's author, Fiona Barker, talks picture books with an environmental theme.

Remember 2019? When all we had to worry about was carbon footprint and plastic pollution? Things have been overtaken by more immediate concerns with difficult and sometimes tragic consequences but the environment hasn’t gone away.

2019 saw a slew of books, articles, vlogs and blogs about using less plastic and caring for the environment. There were hints and tips for people wanting to reduce their plastic consumption and waste everywhere. Children’s publishing was no exception.

They say that ‘children are the future’ (well, actually it was Michael Masser and Linda Creed). They’re going to be the business leaders and consumers of the future. Teaching them well and letting them lead the way really is a good idea. Traditional in-print publication is generally quite a slow, considered business but it was great to see, following the lead of Blue Planet II, the fruits of writers and illustrators labours in the teaching-them-well department. 

My favourites were: 

·         ‘A Planet Full of Plastic’, a non-fiction picture book written and illustrated by the award-winning Neal Layton (Wren & Rook) which built on other non-fiction foundations such as ‘The Big Book of the Blue’ illustrated by Yuval Zommer (Thames and Hudson).

         ‘Clem and Crab’ by Fiona Lumbers (Andersen Press), a lovely gentle story encouraging children to act and show their love for the marine environment.

It was also great to see the mainstream publishing industry getting on board with the #lessplastic message. Authors and illustrators supported it too, creating the hashtags #Authors4Oceans and #KidLit4Climate.

Who knows how the world is going to look after corona virus? Will green issues still be on the agenda? I hope so. If nothing else, the pandemic has shown our capacity for change and ability to adapt. It’s those skills that will be needed in the fight to reduce carbon footprint and change the way we consume resources in the long term. 

My own ‘greening’ began in childhood when I toured the neighbourhood with my Dad and a wheelbarrow collecting newspapers for recycling. I’m a plogger (that’s a good thing, honestly) and low waste advocate. I’m thrilled that this year will see the publication of my own contribution to the green publishing canon (virus-permitting). It’s the story of a real-life mermaid and how her friendship with a lonely whale saves her, the whale and the ocean and, like Danny and the Dream Dog, is illustrated by artist and marine biologist Howard Gray. I hope you like the sneak peeks of Howard’s stunning illustrations. 

I wrote the story in 2017 secretly hoping he would get to illustrate it because I could see how much he loved the ocean just by looking at his portfolio when I met him at the SCBWI conference in 2016. Now our dream is coming true thanks to Tiny Tree Children’s Books and I’m looking forward to using it to spread the word about the excellent work done by the Marine Conservation Society.

During the lockdown, I’ve been using my daily exercise to pick up litter and I can tell you that this problem at least definitely hasn’t gone away, I’m just picking up different things. People still need a push to change their behaviour. We mustn’t let up on the longer term, but no less urgent, fight we face.

Picture Books That Highlight Climate Change by Chitra Soundar

When I wrote You’re Snug With Me (illustrated by Poonam Mistry), it was intended to be a book about a mother reassuring her children of life in their habitat. We had chosen polar bears as our animal mother and children.

As I researched polar bears, I could not ignore the fact that polar bears faced loss of their habitat due to climate change caused by humans. How was I going to tell the polar bear cubs (as their mother) that their ice might be melting, and cause a threat? How could I tell the children who are reading this story that everyone has a role to play in combating climate change?

I created specific questions that the cubs ask about the ice, the oceans and about being the biggest predator in their habitat. And Mama Bear tells them “They must take only what they need.”

It’s been six months since this book came out and now climate change has risen to the top of everyone’s awareness after the climate change strikes by children across the world inspired by Greta Thurnberg. 

I also watched the BBC documentary by David Attenborough on the facts of climate-change, and I wanted to explore how this topic is dealt with for younger children (and their parents).

As storytellers, there are different ways to explain to young readers the effect of climate change and the need for action. As a picture book writer, this is an important decision to make. Is the story about conserving energy, or protecting our wildlife or reducing our carbon footprint more impactful as a fable or a fictional story or as pure hard facts.

So I looked at what’s out there for young children on this topic and I found these books dealing with the effects and activism of climate change in different forms of storytelling.  There are of course many wonderfully curated lists available if you wanted to research more.

As a fable:

Stories like “The Cloudspinner” by Michael Catchpool tell us a story of excess and how if we take more than we need, we will suffer the consequence. Illustrated by Alison Jay.

In The Promise, Nicola Davies tells us the story of an old woman who asks for a simple promise – the promise to change not just her own life  but the world.  Illustrated by Laura Carlin

As an inspiring tale of activism

Winston of Churchill (by Jean Davies Okimoto and Jeremiah Trammell) is a funny book about polar bears in Churchill, Canada and Winston who rallies the tourists to save the melting ice. It not only uses a real life example, but also shows us that no matter how small, we all must contribute to saving the planet.

Alison Jay who illustrated The Promise, takes us on a wordless journey in Bee & Me, showing young people how they can help in protecting our natural world.

As a life story

One Plastic Bag (written by Isatou Ceesay, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon) and Wangari’s Tree of Peace (by Jeannette Winter) both tell us stories of pioneers who tried to change their corner of the world, thus inspiring children and adults everywhere.

As non-fiction

The Earth Book by Todd Parr shows us how we can all do our best to help this planet.

Water Wow! (A Visual Exploration)  written by Paula Ayer, Antonia Banyard and illustrated by Belle Wuthrich show us the importance of water and how climate change affects the availability of this important resource.

If you were to write a picture book about climate change – how would you go about it? Which specific topic will you tackle? Which method of storytelling will you adopt? Tell us in the comments.

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Chitra Soundar is the author of over 40 books for children. Her picture book You’re Snug With Me (illustrated by Poonam Mistry), deals with the anxieties of polar bear cubs whilst also underlining the role of humans in saving our planet. Find out more about her here.