
History Smashers: Earth Day and the Environment
Random House Children's Books · Print & ebook · March 11, 2025
A Nonfiction pick for readers exploring History Smashers: Earth Day and the Environment.
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- Who it’s for
- A lively correction to familiar Earth Day stories, with environmental history reaching far beyond 1970.
- Themes
- Earth Day history, Environmental activism, Climate change
- Genres
- Protecting the Planet, Recycling & Green Living, History
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For older readers: Girls Who Green the World, Big Lies, Island at the Edge of the World
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Myths! Lies! Recycling scams? Discover the real story behind the first Earth Day celebration and some of the biggest US climate catastrophes--and their solutions! Don't miss the award-winning History Smashers series as they get to the truth on the biggest environmental fibs! In April 1970, twenty million people grabbed their rakes, gloves, and recycling bins to celebrate the first Earth Day. Since that environmental kickoff, nature has never been in better shape. RIGHT?
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WRONG! The real deal is a bit muddier than that. It’s true that the first Earth Day encouraged people around the globe to clean up their act when it came to the environment. But activists have been working for centuries to save the planet! Native people across the world developed sustainable farming practices, women in eighteenth-century India stood up to protect trees, and amateur scientist Eunice Foote discovered the science behind global warming all the way back in the 1850s! Join the History Smashers team to bust history's biggest misconceptions and figure out what in the world really went down before (and after!) the first Earth Day—and how you can join the fight to protect the environment. Ready to bust new myths? Check out more titles in the History Smashers series: The Mayflower • Plagues & Pandemics • The Titanic • The Underground Railroad • The Salem Witch Trials
Beyond the Green Myth
A lively correction to familiar Earth Day stories, with environmental history reaching far beyond 1970.
Come here for
- Myth-busting that makes environmental history feel less settled
- Activists and discoveries often left out of the familiar story
Expect
- A wider view of who has worked to protect the planet
- Climate catastrophes alongside efforts to address them
Where it sits
| Protecting the Planet | 89% |
|---|---|
| Recycling & Green Living | 38% |
| History | 32% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Modern History for Kids
- Protecting the Planet
- Science & Nature
- Authors
- Kate Messner
- Publisher
- Random House Children's Books
- Published
- March 11, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Earth Day history · Environmental activism · Climate change
- Reading lane
- Modern History for Kids