The activity below is taken from Global Kids, written by Homa Savet Tavanagar and illustrated by Sophie Fatus.

Plastic waste can impact life on land, in the air and in oceans, lakes, rivers and streams.

Rwanda, known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, is serious about preventing plastic pollution. It was the first country in the world to ban all single-use plastic bags. People who break the rules there must pay a fine.

In this activity, children can talk with their families or classmates and agree on some new plastic rules, like taking reusable bags when shopping, packing lunches in reusable containers and/or refusing plastic straws when offered (if possible). Whenever someone breaks one of the plastic rules, they place a small fine in the Plastics Penalty Pot.

Here are some of our favorite bookstores to visit in Massachusetts.

Below is a guest blog post by Shirin Shamsi, author of Zahra's Blessing: A Ramadan Blessing. When she's not busy writing for children, Shirin spends her days sharing her love of Barefoot Books as an independent bookseller in her community. In this blog post, she shares the inspiration behind her exciting new picture book.

Empower children to care for our planet on Earth Day — and every day!

It’s never too early (or too late) to teach kids to appreciate and care for our outdoor environments. Our top ten picks for Earth Day reads can lead to simple conversations about respecting wildlife and keeping our world clean. Plus, they offer early science lessons by teaching about plant and animal life cycles, weather, habitats and more! Learning about sustainability and about how different cultures view and value our planet can plant the seed for a lifetime of stewardship. Enjoy digging into our list!

Barefoot Books Water is not your everyday children’s picture book. Blending fiction and nonfiction, this massive book bursts with facts and color to help young readers understand our planet’s most precious resources — and how they can protect it! Hear from multi-medium artist Mariona Cabassa on her journey illustrating Water, which involved a lot of watercolors mixed with wax pencils, crayons, ink, markers and gouache painting.