Picture Book Review: Thank You, Earth: a love letter to our planet by April Pulley Sayre

Thank You, Earth: a love letter to our planet by April Pulley Sayre. unpgd. Greenwillow Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, February, 2018. 9780062697349. (Review from copy borrowed from public library.)

Ah, thank you notes! A lost art! I am a pretty faithful thank you note writer who tries not to notice when thank you notes don't arrive after I've done some gift giving. After all, the pleasure should be in the giving, no? However, I will admit to feeling a certain amount of pleasure when I do receive a thank you note. 

Gratitude is a practice. I practice yoga daily and most of my teachers devote part of our practice to identifying at least one thing to be grateful for. I like this ritual. It's stabilizing. Stopping to feel gratitude is humbling and helps with perspective. 

Thank You, Earth is a beautiful meditation. It is an exercise in perspective and humility, an invitation to appreciate our planet. The gorgeous shots of nature pair beautifully with the spare and lovely sentiment in the text. A note from the author invites readers to find ways of not only thanking our planet but actively working to save it by investigating, sharing, participating, helping and acting. There is also a list of resources budding conservationists can consult. The extensive list of picture credits identify animals and landforms for interested readers. 

Thank You, Earth is a vibrant example of #nevertoooldforpicturebooks and belongs in all kinds of libraries for readers young and not-so-young. Thank You, Earth needs to be shared widely. 

Non-Fiction Monday: Magic School Bus Presents Series

This series is billed as a nonfiction companion to the original Magic School Bus series. I received five of them and review them all here.

Overall, the updated series is attractive, with eye-catching, large, full-color photographs, vintage illustrations of Ms. Frizzle, her bus and students superimposed upon the photographs, text boxes galore and one-page "reports" on each double-page spread. A final section devoted to those who work and study in the field giving budding young scientists ideas about careers is followed by a glossary of unfamiliar terms.

Magic School Bus Presents - Sea Creatures. Magic School Bus Presents series. 32 p. Scholastic Inc., June, 2014. 9780545683661.

Glorious photographs and lots of tidbits about life in the sea for young fact hounds to devour.

Magic School Bus Presents - Our Solar System. Magic School Bus Presents series. 32 p. Scholastic Inc., June, 2014. 9780545683654.

Nice introduction to the solar system. Most of the planets get a page and Pluto appears on the pages entitled, "Icy Dwarfs and Comets."

Magic School Bus Presents - Planet Earth. Magic School Bus Presents series. 32 p. Scholastic Inc., June, 2014. 9780545680127.

Very basic information covered here. While the photos continue to have that wow factor, I wasn't thrilled with the caption for an open-pit coal mine that did not identify where it was located. Additionally, no mention was made about mining and environmental concerns.

Magic School Bus Presents - Wild Weather. Magic School Bus Presents series. 32 p. Scholastic Inc., June, 2014. 9780545683678.

Very basic information about all sorts of weather from hot to cold and from wet to dry.

Magic School Bus Presents - The Human Body. Magic School Bus Presents series. 32 p. Scholastic Inc., June, 2014. 9780545683647.

There's a lot to cover inside the human body and this hits the highlights in an interesting and age-appropriate overview.


Although billed as a non-fiction companion, the series still features vintage illustrations of Ms. Frizzle, et al, which caused me to recall the discussion I had fifteen or sixteen years ago with my mentor about where the series ought to be shelved. My library cooperative libraries lean a bit towards non-fiction but not by much. I opted to shelve mine in the fiction section just to keep them all together for fans of the series. I won't have to catalog these as they are paperback and won't go into my collection but they will be put to excellent use in a fifth grade self-contained classroom.