100 Things to Know About Saving the Planet

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Alice James, Jerome Martin, Rose Hall, Tom Mumbray and Jessica Greenwell

Interest age: 9 to 13
Reading age: 9+

Published by Usborne, 2020

Non-fiction

About this book

An excellent introduction to the environmental problems facing us and our planet today.

After a brief overview on why the planet needs saving in the first place, the book focuses on what can and is being done to tackle these challenges, from small everyday changes that anyone can take to big, international missions.

There’s a lot to unpack here, from general approaches, like reducing plastic pollution and protecting ecosystems, to the innovative ideas being actioned to help with those things, e.g. robots that help reduce weed killer usage, edible spoons, rewilding and bee sanctuaries. Terminology and the science behind the harmful things we’re doing are touched on, such as carbon and water footprints, along with how scientists are gathering the data we need to help us make the right decisions.

All this is presented in bite-size infographic-style nuggets, making it an achievable, dip-in read rather than being overwhelming. It’s frank and up-front, showing there’s no single easy solution, but also that everyone really can make a difference through their own actions. And it’s hopeful: significant changes have been achieved in the past (e.g. banning CFCs), so they can be achieved in the future if we fight hard enough for them.

About the author

Alice James joined Usborne after working in primary schools for a while. She absolutely loves science, and over the years has lived with chimps, spent a month in the rainforest, studied Biology at Oxford University, and grown 200 carnivorous plants (not necessarily in that order). Whilst at Usborne Alice has worked on books on all kinds of science topics, from space to energy to the periodic table.

About the author

Jerome Martin has written children’s books about science, history, Shakespeare and food. Before joining Usborne in 2014, he spent a decade studying literature at Harvard, Cambridge and the University of Iowa, and several years behaving responsibly in a copywriting office. Now, he spends his working hours researching delightful and amazing facts, his evening hours parenting two children, and the minutes in-between writing poetry.

About the author

Rose grew up in Northumberland, studied Physiology at Oxford and looked after orphaned orangutans for a bit. She worked in the charity sector for ten years, writing about issues from renewable energy, to the safety of workers in Bangladesh. For Usborne, she’s written books about engineering, business, computers and the environment.

About the author

Tom studied History at university before joining Usborne in 2018. Since then he’s worked on books about Planet Earth, technology, maths and inventions (and learned lots of amazing facts about everything from paleoburrows to fireworks along the way).

About the author

Jessica Greenwell grew up in Wolverhampton then studied English at Leeds University. She joined Usborne in 2008 and has since written lots of wipe-clean, sticker, colouring and noisy books. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two young sons, and when she’s not playing pirates or dinosaurs, she’s writing books about them instead.