Little eco warriors (six to 10)

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay And The Recycling Women Of The Gambia

Author: Miranda Paul Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon Publisher: Millbrook Press

ONE of Malaysia’s most pressing environmental problems is plastic pollution. While the recent ban on plastic in Federal territories like Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur is encouraging, we need to continue to proactively curb plastic waste.

The book asks a crucial question: Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use, but what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people would simply discard them, and the bags would collect on roads, holding stagnant water that breed mosquitoes and disease. When burned, they emit toxic fumes. When buried, they stifle plant growth. And they harm animals that try to eat them after mistaking them for food.

This true story of Isatou Ceesay, a Gambian woman who finds way to recycle these bags, shows how simple actions can make a big difference in transforming whole communities.

The Great Kapok Tree Author & Illustrator: Lynne Cherry Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

IN the rich, dense Amazon rainforest, a man has come to chop down a great kapok tree. When he lies down to rest, the creatures that live in the tree and the surrounding forest (a snake, monkeys, colourful birds, a small tree frog, a jaguar, tree porcupines, ant-eaters and even a three-toed sloth) gently whisper in his ear, each begging him in their own unique way to spare their home.

The author/illustrator created the lush pictures in her book that convey the magic and magnificence of the ecosystem as well as its innate fragility after visiting Brazil’s Amazon forest.