Earth Day An Alphabet Book, is suggested for children ages 4 to 8 years of age. The book uses some very good examples of the Earth with correlating letters of the alphabet. For example “A” is for apple trees. However, some of the other examples like apricots, coffee, juniper, narwhals, nasturtiums and iguanas are too advanced for small children. There were no examples for the letter “x”.
Another problem with book is the illustrations do not match the examples, “B” is for banana’s there is no picture of a banana.
On the positive side the colors are very earthy and well represented, the layout is also excellent.
Gary Kowalski is an activist for the ethical treatment of animals. He has written numerous books, including The Souls of Animals and Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. Kowalski is a minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont.
Rocco Baviera has been illustrating children's books for more than 20 years. His many awards include: the The Society of Illustrators in New York, Communication Arts, Applied Arts, Child Magazine, American Library Association, and the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington. He lives in Ontario, Canada.
Rating: C+
~review by: Janet Meadows
Author: Gary Kowalski, Illustrated by Rocco Baviera
Unitarian Universalist Association, 2009
pp. 32
