Our Home, Our Only Home
(Wondrous World)

K-Gr 4--Bauer's free verse poetry tells the history of the Earth and humanity. Fire helped people survive but by its overuse destroyed parts of the earth. Pesticides and plastics seemed like miracles but ultimately added more damage. The poem discusses how the damage may lead to another great extinction due to human-caused climate change. It then shifts tone to show how humanity still has a chance to change things, but people have to care enough to try. Diao's full-page illustrations closely echo the tone of the poem, starting with bright, vibrant colors and then getting progressively darker as the ecological damage grows, and becoming brighter again when discussing ways to change. The overall effect stresses the severity of the situation, but ends on an optimistic and age-appropriate note. Several pages of back matter explain climate change in greater detail and give examples of young climate activists, such as Greta Thunberg. The book concludes with a few general ideas of what kids can do, such as picking up trash and conserving water. VERDICT Lyrical and sweeping poetry coupled with vivid artwork make this a worthy addition to the shelves of conservation books and a strong Earth Day pick in classrooms.--Jennifer Rothschild

Insistent verse by Bauer urges care for Earth as confident artwork from Diao emphasizes the planet's fragility in this bracing picture book wake-up call. Similes keenly draw out humankind's oneness with the natural world ("We are as alive, / as night-sprouting mushrooms, / as worms gobbling their way/ through the living soil") even as text simultaneously narrates a story of how humans, with their "big brains" and their "trusted companion./ Fire," have carelessly wrought destruction. The lines crescendo into an accounting of alarming consequences ("Wildfires kill./ Grasslands become desert./ Oceans die./ Plastics fill land and sea") before suggesting ways that people can still change course. There's a sandy tactile quality to soft-contoured digital renderings that aptly match the poem's cumulative tone, which darkens before eventually brightening. Includes extensive back matter. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)