17 Books to Read on World Environment Day
posted by Toka Box Editorial Team , June 01, 2020
June 5 is World Environment Day and we give you 17 beautiful children's books to read on the earth and the environment!
1. Po Tricks His Foe by Sharmila Deo and Niloufer Wadia
Age: 6-8 yr olds
Can you imagine an animal with a tongue almost as long as its body? Why would it need such a long one? The tongue is just one of several unusual things about the creature called a pangolin. This is a story about Po, a little Pangolin, who sets out late one evening to look for food, only to run into some trouble. What tricks can a pangolin play to get out of trouble? Read a story about an endangered animal!
This book is our pick for the June 2020 Toka Explorer Box
It comes with a beautiful toy engineering activity.
Buy this book now!
Toka Box | Amazon India
2. Lai Lai the Baby Elephant by Shekhar Dattatri
Age: 3-5 yrs
Lai Lai the Baby Elephant is a picture book with stunning wildlife photography and a touching story about an elephant who is watching his world disappear around him.
This book was our Toka Junior book pick for June 2019 and we paired it with a stunning Thrissur Pooram elephant activity.
Buy this book now!
Toka Box | Amazon India
3. Budgie, Bridge and Big Djinn by Ranjit Lal
Age: 9+ years
Chosen as one of Toka Box's Top South Asian Books 2019!
They form a formidable team: 14-year-old Budgie, outspoken to a fault; Bridge, a steady teenager with a rocky past; and Big Djinn, the ferocious Tibetan Mastiff-German Shepherd mixed breed. Together they set about getting their own back on a gang of mean-spirited bird-watching bullies. That's the easy part. When faced with a terrifying, life-threatening situation, that endangers the very existence of their idyllic mountain home, they have to dig deep to find the courage and tenacity to deal with it ... and face an enemy who will stop at nothing to get his own way. A thrilling adventure story that also brings forth the perils of environmental degradation.
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
4. Ma Ganga and the Razai Box by Geeta Dharmarajan and Sonali Biswas
Age: 6-8 yrs
Yasho of the Hill People complains about Ma Ganga flooding her village and Ma Ganga tells her that she will stop only when Shiva's matted hair is spread on her banks. Yasho and her people realize they must plant trees on the barren hillsides to make Ma Ganga happy again. A delightful story that combines mythology and contemporary thought. The book weaves environmental concerns like pollution, soil erosion, and desertification, with mythology.
This book was our Toka Explorer book pick for April 2020 and we learned about Trees and built a Nature Treasure Box.
Buy this now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
5. The Poop Book by Tehaswini Apte-Rahm and Sujatha Padmanabhan
Age: 3-5 yrs
This is a book about animal poop! Meet jellyfish, lions, penguins, bees, and lots of other creatures who all have their own special way of pooping - or using poop! Who would have thought that poop could be so much fun? Read on to discover the wonderful world of animal poop!
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
6. The Cat in the Ghat by Ambika Rao and Ruchi Shah
Age: 6-8 yrs
Inspired by the real-life expedition by Sandesh Kadur, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, who saw the elusive cat ‘Pogeyan’ in the Western Ghats of India, this book is a wonderful way to teach kids about how extinction is causing havoc to the ecological system!
Buy this book now!
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7. Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins
Age: 9+yrs
The story of the little boy, Neel, who lives in the Sunderbans and tries to protect a tiger cub, brought a lump in our throat. Mitali Perkins won the South Asia Book Award (SABA) 2016 for this book! Do we say more?
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
8. The Lion and the Fox by Deepa Balsavar and Amrita Kanther
Age: 6-8 yrs
The Lion and the Fox is one such fable retold by Deepa Balsavar. The book is published by Tulika. Balsavar emphasizes the environmental issues of the modern world. The lion and the fox scavenge for food in a barren forest. They strike a deal to share any available source. A woodcutter falls prey to his own greed. He lets the animal trick them. He realizes his folly when the fox names him brainless and shuts down his own escape route. The story brilliantly portrays the need for conservation. The ending will give a hard blow to young minds. It is a good way to understand our world and ecosystem in a new light.
Buy this book now!
Bilingual Panchatantra Bundle
Amazon US | Amazon India
9. Khari - Journeys Through Kachchh by Sujatha Padmanabhan, Shruthi Ramakrishna and Kalyani Ganapathy
Age: 6-8 yrs
Written by Sujatha Padmanabhan and Shruthi Ramakrishna and illustrated by Kalyani Ganapathy was first published in Gujarathi by Kalpavriksh to teach as part of localized environment education material for schools in Kachchh! Khari, a young Demoiselle Crane who shares her name with a river flowing through Kachchh, has heard many stories about Kachchh from her family and friends. While flocking across a vast area of salt filled land, Khari gets abandoned by the rest when she stops to relish the white beauty. The book has many details that are quite surprising. The swimming camels, the camel haircut competition, amphibious fishes, and salty trees are just stupendous. I have never even heard of them before!
This book was our July Explorer pick in 2018 to explain India's biodiversity! We created a simple saltwater circuit to explore the electrical conductivity of saltwater.
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
10. Race of the Rivers by Esther Syiem and Benedict Hynniewta
Age: 3-5 yrs
Explore River Geography with this book from Tulika! Race of the rivers is a folk tale about sister rivers from Meghalaya in India! From the hills of Meghalaya, adventurous Ka
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
11. Salim Mamoo and Me by Zai Whitaker and Prabha Mallya
Age: 6-8 yrs
Zai's uncle is the famous '
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
12. Loop/Chakkar illustrated by Ishita Biswas
Age: 3-5 yrs
A wordless book, Loop/Chakkar is published by Eklavya on the theme of our environment. It may not have words but it has a lot to say! Wordless books trigger conversational skills, expressive language and imagination. You can use Loop/Chakkar to engage in bilingual conversations, especially about our the environment, the natural cycle of life and how to protect our beautiful blue planet.
Buy it now!
Toka Shop
13. Putul and the Dolphins by Mariam Karim-Ahlawat and Proiti Roy
Age: 3-5 yrs
Putul lives in a fishing village on the banks of the Ganga. The lives of Putul, her parents and the rest of the villagers are intertwined with the river. When the river is calm, the kids play in the river and the father catches fish to sell. In the monsoon, the river swells and sometimes floods their homes. But they don't leave their homes. They just stack up their belongings and stay dry and wait for the river to subside.
One monsoon, the river dolphins swim into Putul's flooded house. Putul swims into the river to lead them out so that her father will not catch them when he comes back. In the process, Putul gets stuck in a current and the dolphins save her.
The illustrations by Proiti Roy are beautiful and colorful. When you talk about this book, you can talk about the Ganges River Dolphins. You can discuss endangered animals and how to save the environment.
Buy this book now!
Amazon US | Amazon India
14. Flamingo in My Garden by Deepak Dalal and Lavanya Naidu
Age: 9 yrs+
A Mumbai flamingo goes missing. The city is home to beautiful rose-colored flamingos that feed in its creeks and mudflats. But when one among them, Sunglow, disappears, the skybird Longtail is called in to investigate.
Rumour has it that the seagulls and the crows are behind the bird-napping, and Longtail zeroes in on two possible suspects—Skull, the brash seagull, and S-Crow, the tough and ruthless leader of the crows. But will the brave skybird be a match for them? Can he find the missing flamingo before sundown, or will he face the most terrible consequence?
Return to the ledges of the fountain in the Rose Garden to read about the enthralling capers of your favorite feathered friends and bird-squirrel as they swap stories of daring and wonder.
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
15. Magnificent Makhna by Aravind Krish Bala and Sandip K Luis
Age: 6-8 yrs
A majestic elephant protects the forest from timber traders, tree cutters and poachers. One day, the Forest Department receives orders to hunt the elephant down. An absorbing read based on true events, it highlights the complex cause of conservation!
Buy the book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
16. The Jungle Radio: Bird Songs of India by Devangana Dash
Age: 9+ years
Who is it that speaks, songs and melodies from those murmuring beaks?' When curious little Gul encounters some strange sounds coming from her radio, she follows the musical clues into an Indian jungle. On her walk, she finds friends who tweet, tapp and talk! Some who howl and hoot, and others who play the flute. With a kee here and a kaw there, Gul discovers songs everywhere! Puzzled by the language of the birds and nature's rich choir, she's swept away by the sweet jungle orchestra, full of Woodpecker's drums, Hornbill's trumpet, Kingfisher's blues and the tunes of many more feathered musicians. With quirky, painterly illustrations, The Jungle Radio is a little story about songs and sounds with a loud and clear call to listen to the world around us.
Buy this book now!
Toka Shop | Amazon India
17. Ambushed by Nayanika Mahtani
Age: 9+ years
The story of
Buy this book now!
Amazon US| Amazon India
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