Earth Day: General Interest

Books to recognize the Earth’s seasons, beauty, living beings, past, and future.

Here are books to recognize the Earth's beauty, darkness, splendor, seasons, living beings, past, and future. From children's picture books to journalistic inquiry and memoir, take in the joys and challenges of living on and living with our planet.

BROWSE:

GENERAL INTEREST

MINNESOTA

SCHOLARLY

FULL COLLECTION

 

The Cactus Hunters: Desire and Extinction in the Illicit Succulent Trade The Cactus Hunters Desire and Extinction in the Illicit Succulent Trade Jared D. Margulies 2023 Fall
An exploration of the explosive illegal trade in succulents and the passion that drives it
Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood: Permafrost and Extinction in the Russian Arctic Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood Permafrost and Extinction in the Russian Arctic Charlotte Wrigley 2023 Spring
Exploring one of the greatest potential contributors to climate change—thawing permafrost—and the anxiety of extinction on an increasingly hostile planet
Big Belching Bog Big Belching Bog Phyllis Root 2023 Spring
A quirky romp through the peat bogs of northern Minnesota for young readers
The Lichen Museum The Lichen Museum A. Laurie Palmer 2023 Spring
A radical proposal for how a tiny organism can transform our understanding of human relations
This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments This Contested Land The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments McKenzie Long 2022 Spring
One woman’s enlightening trek through the natural histories, cultural stories, and present perils of thirteen national monuments, from Maine to Hawaii
Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene Endlings Fables for the Anthropocene Lydia Pyne 2023 Spring
Amid the historical decimation of species around the globe, a new way into the language of loss
Rescue Me: On Dogs and Their Humans Rescue Me On Dogs and Their Humans Margret Grebowicz 2023 Spring
What exactly is it we want from dogs today?
On the Wandering Paths On the Wandering Paths Sylvain Tesson 2022 Spring
A walking journey through France’s vast interior becomes a meditation on both personal recovery and the role of history in the present—more than 425,000 copies sold in France
Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies Noopiming The Cure for White Ladies Leanne Betasamosake Simpson 2022 Spring
The new novel from the author of As We Have Always Done, a poetic world-building journey into the power of Anishinaabe life and traditions amid colonialism
Hudson Bay Bound: Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic Hudson Bay Bound Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic Natalie Warren 2022 Spring
The remarkable eighty-five-day journey of the first two women to canoe the 2,000-mile route from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay
Animal Revolution Animal Revolution Ron Broglio 2022 Spring
Why our failure to consider the power of animals is to our deep detriment
The Steger Homestead Kitchen: Simple Recipes for an Abundant Life The Steger Homestead Kitchen Simple Recipes for an Abundant Life Will Steger and Rita Mae Steger 2021 Fall
Personal and simple, earthy and warm—recipes and stories from the Steger Wilderness Center in Minnesota’s north woods
Skiing into the Bright Open: My Solo Journey to the South Pole Skiing into the Bright Open My Solo Journey to the South Pole Liv Arnesen 2021 Spring
The first woman to ski solo to the South Pole tells the story of what it took to get there
A Private Wilderness: The Journals of Sigurd F. Olson A Private Wilderness The Journals of Sigurd F. Olson Sigurd F. Olson 2021 Spring
The personal diaries of one of America’s best-loved naturalists, revealing his difficult and inspiring path to finding his voice and becoming a writer
Begin with a Bee Begin with a Bee Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Phyllis Root 2021 Spring
Begin with a Bee and its story of the life of one queen bee, a rusty-patched bumblebee, teaches us not only about bees but also about our own responsibilities in the natural world
The Perennial Kitchen: Simple Recipes for a Healthy Future The Perennial Kitchen Simple Recipes for a Healthy Future Beth Dooley 2021 Spring
Recipes and resources connect thoughtfully grown, gathered, and prepared ingredients to a healthy future—for food, farming, and humankind
Watershed: Attending to Body and Earth in Distress Watershed Attending to Body and Earth in Distress Ranae Lenor Hanson 2021 Spring
A personal health crisis, stories from environmental refugees, and our climate in danger prompt a meditation on intimate connections between the health of the body and the health of the ecosystem
An Ecotopian Lexicon An Ecotopian Lexicon Matthew Schneider-Mayerson and Brent Ryan Bellamy, Editors 2019 Fall
Presents thirty novel terms that do not yet exist in English to envision ways of responding to the environmental challenges of our generation
Standing with Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement Standing with Standing Rock Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement Nick Estes and Jaskiran Dhillon, Editors 2019 Spring
Dispatches of radical political engagement from people taking a stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline
The Lost Forest The Lost Forest Phyllis Root 2019 Spring
The story of a forest “lost” by a surveying error—and all the flora and fauna to be found there
Hush Hush, Forest Hush Hush, Forest Mary Casanova 2018 Fall
Lyrical words and elegant woodcuts capture the quiet beauty of the forest as day fades to night and autumn gives way to the North Woods winter
Searching for Minnesota’s Native Wildflowers: A Guide for Beginners, Botanists, and Everyone in Between Searching for Minnesota’s Native Wildflowers A Guide for Beginners, Botanists, and Everyone in Between Phyllis Root 2018 Spring
A beautifully illustrated, family-friendly guide to Minnesota’s native wildflowers and how to find them
The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Fight to Protect the Arctic and Save the Planet from Climate Change The Right to Be Cold One Woman’s Fight to Protect the Arctic and Save the Planet from Climate Change Sheila Watt-Cloutier 2018 Spring
A “courageous and revelatory memoir” (Naomi Klein) chronicling the life of the leading Indigenous climate change, cultural, and human rights advocate
Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year Onigamiising Seasons of an Ojibwe Year Linda LeGarde Grover 2017 Fall
Fifty short essays evoke the four seasons of the year, and of life, for the Ojibwe in northeastern Minnesota
Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet: Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Heather Anne Swanson, Elaine Gan and Nils Bubandt, Editors 2017 Spring
Can humans and other species continue to inhabit the earth together?
Creekfinding: A True Story Creekfinding A True Story Jacqueline Briggs Martin 2017 Spring
An enchanting picture book about restoring a creek, with all the wildlife it once hosted, in a farm field in Iowa. Ages 4-9.
Against Purity: Living Ethically in Compromised Times Against Purity Living Ethically in Compromised Times Alexis Shotwell 2016 Fall
Why contamination and compromise might be a starting point for doing something, instead of a reason to give up
One North Star: A Counting Book One North Star A Counting Book Phyllis Root 2016 Fall
Who lives here under one north star?
If Bees Are Few: A Hive of Bee Poems If Bees Are Few A Hive of Bee Poems 2016 Spring
An anthology of 2,500 years of poetry, from Sappho to Sherman Alexie, humming with bees, at a moment when the beloved honey makers and pollinators are in danger of disappearing
Wake Up, Island Wake Up, Island Mary Casanova 2016 Spring
In a picture book for all ages, lyrical language and elegant woodcuts celebrate the waking natural world on a North Woods island
Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings Mary Siisip Geniusz 2015 Spring
The first complete resource for the practical use of plants in the Anishinaabe culture and the stories that surround them
Water and What We Know: Following the Roots of a Northern Life Water and What We Know Following the Roots of a Northern Life Karen Babine 2015 Spring
Personal essays exploring the link between natural history and memory, landscape and identity, place and meaning
The Price of Thirst: Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos The Price of Thirst Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos Karen Piper 2014 Fall
Imagine a world where water is only for those who can afford it. We’re already there.
Goodnight Loon Goodnight Loon Abe Sauer 2015 Spring
A charming retelling of a children's classic in a distinctly northwoods voice
Plant a Pocket of Prairie Plant a Pocket of Prairie Phyllis Root 2014 Spring
An inspiring children’s book about the endangered prairie ecosystem and how we can help restore it
The Three-Minute Outdoorsman: Wild Science from Magnetic Deer to Mumbling Carp The Three-Minute Outdoorsman Wild Science from Magnetic Deer to Mumbling Carp Robert M. Zink 2014 Spring
Curious facts and fascinating insights into nature from scientist outdoorsman Bob Zink
Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World Hyperobjects Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World Timothy Morton 2013 Fall
The world as we know it has already come to an end
Vampyroteuthis Infernalis: A Treatise, with a Report by the Institut Scientifique de Recherche Paranaturaliste Vampyroteuthis Infernalis A Treatise, with a Report by the Institut Scientifique de Recherche Paranaturaliste Vilém Flusser and Louis Bec 2012 Fall
Pondering the human condition while examining the vampire squid from hell
Biogea Biogea Michel Serres 2012 Fall
Presents a philosophy that merges the humanities with all creation
Wilderness Days Wilderness Days Sigurd F. Olson 2012 Spring
A selection of Sigurd F. Olson’s finest writing on the splendor of the great outdoors, hand-picked by the master himself
Memory of Trees: A Daughter’s Story of a Family Farm Memory of Trees A Daughter’s Story of a Family Farm Gayla Marty 2013 Spring
An evocative memoir of life on a dairy farm in Minnesota’s St. Croix Valley
When Species Meet When Species Meet Donna J. Haraway 2007 Fall
Whom do we touch when we touch a dog? How does this touch shape our multispecies world?
Great Wolf and the Good Woodsman Great Wolf and the Good Woodsman Helen Hoover 2005 Fall
A classic story with a message of peace, tolerance, and kindness—illustrated by Betsy Bowen
A Plague of Frogs: Unraveling an Environmental Mystery A Plague of Frogs Unraveling an Environmental Mystery William Souder 2002 Fall
An alarming account of the effects of environmental degradation-now in paperback for the first time!