Earth: Feeling the Heat Book

Earth: Feeling the Heat
Brenda Z. Guiberson
Illustrated by Chad Wallace
9780805077193
Recommended for ages 6-7; 3 Stars.

Earth: Feeling the Heat by Brenda Guiberson is picture book that shows the impact that global warming has on different types of animals, from polar bears to butterflies to dart frogs. Each passage gives a good description of the life cycle of the animal and tells how global warming is affecting the area where they live, either through dry watering holes, melting ice caps, or water that is too warm for fish. The watercolor illustrations in the book are bright, colorful and depict each animal in its natural environment. The detail of the illustrations add another layer of useful and engaging information to the book for young readers. The text uses onomatopoeias to add to the setting the animals live in by describing the flapping of a puffins' wing or the splash of water in a penguins' habitat, all of which add a element of liveliness and timeliness to the book.

Throughout the book the reader is asked "Who can Help?", with the answer "People Can!" The book ends with simple suggestions that everyone could do to help the environment, and a (very) simple summary of greenhouse gases. The book is not technical, but does a good job of how environmental change is affecting all areas of the world, and does so in a way that could be understood by small children. The book may not be appropriate as a standalone piece to teach about global warming, but it is an excellent companion piece for a classroom that is doing a lesson about global warming, and would be an engaging pick for story time at a public library.