Welcome to the holiday edition of the Beyond Plastics Book Club! We invite you to browse the books recommended by our staff below to see if anything piques your interest. We’ve topped the list with a number of wonderful books for kids in case you have any young ones in your life.
We hope that you find a few great winter reads to enliven the coming colder, darker days as well as some great holiday gifts for your family and friends. If possible, we recommend buying books from your local independent book store or from a used bookseller.
What’s on your bookshelf, bedside table, or digital reader these days? If you have a recommendation for a particularly eye-opening, inspiring, or entertaining read, please complete this short form to share it with us.
BOOKS FOR KIDS
This book demonstrates the importance of sustainable practices and community solidarity in combating climate change; which gave me a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by those in vulnerable regions, and motivated me to engage more in conversations about climate resilience. - Nyah Estevez, Community Organizer
This is the first book in a truly wonderful series for kids and young adults by the acclaimed writer, Louise Erdrich. This book is a critical corollary to the popular Little House on the Prairie books, telling the story from the perspective of Omakayas, a little girl growing up in the Ojibwe nation in the mid-1800’s. Filled with details and beautifully written, they offer a much-needed counterpoint. Can’t recommend this and the other books in the series highly enough. —Eve Fox, Digital Director
This book poetically opens kids’ minds to our dependence on clean water, the interconnectedness of all life, the role of indigenous peoples as stewards, and the expansion of the fossil fuel industry as a threat to it all. - Rev. Kathryn Beilke, Coordinator, Interfaith Partnerships
A great kids’ book about waste and our oceans and marine life for the young readers in your life. This is book two of author Carolyn Armstrong’s “Eco Warriors” Series.” -Judith Enck, President
This is one of my all-time favorite gifts for young people and friends who are raising young people. I give it as a gift in lieu of a card at every baby shower. The messages about our duty to protect nature, and warning of greed and consumerism, are timeless. - Jennifer Congdon, Deputy Director
My two kids loved this book and my husband and I loved reading it to them. While out exploring a grim, colorless, industrial city, a boy named Liam discovers a small patch of deserted garden that he begins to care for. As time passes, the green begins to spread throughout the gray city, transforming it. I appreciated the message about how well nature can bounce back when humans take care of our precious planet as well as the great pictures. — Eve Fox, Digital Director
A friend introduced me to this book when my older son was born and it’s been a family favorite ever since. Using the life and death of a single saguaro cactus, the book illustrates the complexity and interdependence of the desert ecosystem. It’s beautifully illustrated and very compelling. - Eve Fox, Digital Director
This book teaches minds young and old how to connect with nature in the winter. It encourages kids to attend to weather patterns, our response as humans and other environmental curiosities. - Jess Conard, Appalachia Director
BOOKS FOR ADULTS
This is the inspiring story of an epic environmental battle that took place on the Seacoast of New Hampshire when a small group of residents turned activists fought bravely against a proposed oil refinery in the Great Bay backed by the richest man in the world at the time— oil shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, husband of President John F. Kennedy's widow Jaqueline Kennedy. - Christina Dubin, Senior Community Organizer
The author and activist relays stories of past climate and environmental justice victories to prove change can happen, while smartly sharing how to make that change occur for the future. - Cathy Jenkins, Development Director
This book started me down the path of ripping out non-native plantings in my yard, replacing them with natives, and watching with wonder to see the amazing insects they attracted. - Lane Epps, Development Manager
“A very important and interesting read on the environmental impacts of outdoor recreation — extremely relevant as hiking surges in popularity since the pandemic. A great book for hikers, backpackers, and campers of all experience levels and who want to become stewards of the wilderness they recreate in. Originally published in 1977, the updated 2016 version includes a foreword by the one and only Bill McKibben!” — Andrew Craigie, Program Manager
Reading this book is a much-needed antidote to the multi-faceted anxieties of the present day. Harari will change the way you think about things we take for granted about how the world works. - Jenny Gitlitz, Director of Solutions to Plastic Pollution
This fascinating book tells the true story of the members of the Osage Nation who were briefly some of the richest people in America after oil was discovered under the subpar land they'd been pushed onto by the U.S. government in the 1920s and what happens when their white neighbors get jealous. - Eve Fox, Digital Director
“It reads like a detective novel but, unfortunately, this is a true story about how a small group of political operatives and scientists worked to deceive the public about the very real risks of climate change.” - Judith Enck, President
“This is a beautiful novel about woman's life on a farm in rural Tennessee and how climate change and other factors affect her community. The central characters are monarch butterflies and their migratory route.” - Judith Enck, President
“This is a collection of essays from faith and thought leaders from many traditions reflecting on humanity's relationship with nature and divinity. A great resource to grow in ones own sense of awe and reverence for the earth and to be renewed in doing what is necessary to save it.” - Rev. Kathryn Beilke, Interfaith Partnerships Coordinator
Fire Weather uses the story of a mega-fire in Canada's boreal forest to tell a tale that is becoming familiar -- and ever more frequent -- around the world. - Megan Wolff, Health Policy Director
David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz’s new book is a must-read. I am a big fan of their work. -Judith Enck
I love this book because its environmental message is disguised as a guide to personal finance. Its underlying message, and the reason author Vicki Robin says she and Joe Dominguez wrote the first edition in 1992, is to get people to lower consumption in order to save the planet. Buying less, living smaller, and finding ways to have fun without consuming stuff is good for the planet and your wallet. It's a win-win. - Lane Epps, Development Manager
This is the debut book of a reporter who has been documenting the impact of climate change on communities across the country for years. It is both a call to action and beautiful storytelling from the viewpoints of people in these communities, from New Yorkers overwhelmed by the rising floodwaters of Hurricane Sandy to Hawaiian families devastated by the 2023 Maui wildfires. He also includes historical accounts about communities that were desolated as far back as the early 20th century. The stories are painful, but the tone of the book remains optimistic. - Cathy Jenkins, Development Director
The author takes you on a personal journey through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch–with detail about taking samples and studying them in the lab. She discusses how plastics manufacturing and recycling often impacts environmental justice communities, and provides policy options for tackling the problem. - Jenny Gitlitz, Director of Solutions to Plastic Pollution
The scariest and most eye-opening (and motivating) book on climate change you’ve ever read. After I read it a second time, I traded in my Toyota for an EV and worked with the landlord to install heat pumps. - Megan Wolff, Health Policy Director
A realistic account of a world that actually surmounts climate change. A best-case scenario that gives us something tangible to aim for. - Megan Wolff, Health Policy Director
First published in 1989, this book was wildly ahead of its time. I compare it to The Giver for post-apocalyptic fiction fans in terms of being ahead of the curve. The End of Nature was written long before climate change education was sexy. We are closer to nature than most of us realize. - Jess Conard, Appalachia Director
Beautifully written and filled with facts. Sandra is a modern day Rachel Carson. - Judith Enck, President
A reporter, heartbroken by a broken engagement, sets off to visit every National Park in the United States. Documenting his once in a lifetime adventure, Conor describes how the trip changed his world view and shares lots of interesting facts about each park in a humorous way that will have you planning a road trip of your own. An info packed (and humorous) book that explores not only the beauty of nature, but how it shapes and changes your world views. - Andrew Craigie, Program Manager
This novel explores land management through the solutions that Indigenous knowledge and science has long offered us, and that the mainstream environmental discourse has failed to cover. It allows the voices of Indigenous communities to be heard and sheds light on eco-colonialism. - Nyah Estevez, Community Organizer
This book has changed my view on deceitful marketing and encouraged me to take the reins to educate myself on the health risks of chemicals we use everyday and don't know about. - Jess Conard, Appalachia Director
If you watched The True Cost documentary about the fashion industry but felt helpless afterwards, this book gives you concrete actions you can take to affect change. The detailed advice in this book completely changed the way I shop and build my wardrobe in a more sustainable way. - Lane Epps, Development Manager
This book beautifully widens and deepens our perspective to show us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and that everything is connected and mutually dependent. Through Robin’s lens, you’ll see that nature - plants, insects, animals, water, landscapes - has deep meaning, offers us all gifts, and can teach important lessons. - Eve Fox, Digital Director
A book of case studies focused on wow-factor organizing and civil disobedience. Entertaining and will get your thinking cap charged for creative action. - Alexis Goldsmith, Organizing Director
One of my all-time favorites, this is a delicious book about the transformative power of eating locally-produced food and also one of the many inspirations for finally starting a backyard garden with my kids. - Jennifer Congdon, Deputy Director
Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a hero of mine. She emphasizes joy in climate work and the need for storytelling and connection. “We need to have a whole cultural shift, where it becomes our culture to take care of the Earth, and in order to make this shift, we need storytelling about how the Earth takes care of us and how we can take care of her.” - Christina Dubin, Senior Organizer
I am so sad about the number of friends and family who have been stricken by cancer. We can’t change our genes but we can change the way our bodies are exposed to carcinogens in the air, water, food and consumer products. In my mind, it starts with systemic change. This book is a deep inquiry into cancer prevention. - Judith Enck, President