The Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming

This was a very well written and illustrated book that is not only easy to go through with my kids but very thought provoking for all of us. It is really nice to see something so well done that was targeted to the audience that will be left with the bag if we don't step in and do something and quick....It maked us all realise we ALL need to be a part of the solution.

This is a fascinating and easily understood explanation of global warming. Concrete examples will enable children to understand the phenomenon of Global Warming: a popsicle stays frozen at 32 degrees F but falls off the stick at 33 degrees F. Just a one degree difference in earth's average temperature is already causing major changes in climate patterns. Photographs, cartoon illustrations, graphs are eye-catching: there is a picture of an abandoned house on stilts that is now rests at the edge of the ocean because twelve feet of this North Carolina beach are lost each year. Participatory activities like a "connect the dots" and a "match the quote" game. This book also suggests many easy things that kids can do to save energy like unplug the chargers used for cell phones because they use valuable energy even when there is not a phone recharging. Extensive back material includes: a glossary, index, source notes and a list of current material, both books and web sites for further exploration. Every library should have multiple copies.

What an informative and inspiring book about global warming for our future generations! The text is user-friendly, the graphics are colorful and even fun, and the overall message is entirely one of hope. I especially like the resources the authors have provided, included information on green careers, along with the activism ideas for children. Regardless of your personal beliefs on global warming, this book offers wonderful advice and information on conserving our planet's resources -- something everyone can, and should, do. (As an aside, I have to admit that I'm shocked by how many reviews here are focused entirely on the chart on p. 18. It's such a minor element of this book and doesn't in any way undermine the rest of this book's message. It's essentially a non-issue.)

I can't help noticing that reviews of this book mirror the controversy surrounding this topic. And that's a good thing. (I also can't help noticing what feels like a coordinated attack based on a single technical error, as if that discredited the fundamental science behind this book's premise, which no serious scientist doubts.) In my household, this wonderfully written, funny, accessible and very important book has led to lots of healthy discussions about our world -- and our own household. Suddenly my kids -- 10 and 7 -- are talking and thinking about electricity and water usage, recycling, gas mileage, thermostat settings, and even the great outdoors itself, in ways they never did before. I'm glad this book has people talking, because, as the book points out, the solutions to this problem will make us stronger as a people, and there's much more danger in doing -- or saying -- nothing.

A simple, yet eye-opening book!!! So much of what we can do is SO ridiculously simple, yet I had no idea!! If everyone would read this book and start with a few simple adjustments it will become second nature, like handwashing is now, and we will look back and think, "how could we have thought living like that was okay?" Encourage your local schools to carry this book and even require teachers to include it in their science topics. This book gives an easy to understand explanation. Too many books bore you with too much "scientific lingo", the book is put down and the chance for education and change is lost. My kids and I are already making changes. Read this book and share it with others, that's what I am doing!