From: sstantoine at aol.com <sstantoine>
Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:20:29 -0400

I was very happy to read Nancy Silverrod?s mention of Anne of Green Gables and Byrd Baylor?s books for this discussion. I?ve been thinking about what makes a good eco book for some time, having launched some fairly didactic eco titles myself (fresh out of college?chalk it up to immaturity) before moving into a broader understanding of what kinds of literature are truly transformative in terms of kids? relationship to the natural world. I cast a pretty broad net now. I think stories like Anne of Green Gables or My Antonia that illuminate the relationship of a person to his or her place are at least as powerful as those with an explicit nature or environmental theme (and maybe more powerful). Thoughtfully rendered setting is an amazing record of landscape and biodiversity over time and across geographic space. Well-rounded characters convey the nuances of how individuals and communities respond (for good or ill) to their natural environment. And the best of stories leave us more attuned, more curious, and more
 emotionally open to the wonders outside our door. I?ve had the great pleasure of gathering this sort of nature-focused regional literature as editor of Milkweed Editions? Stories from Where We Live series. I've featured prose and poetry by many of the names cited thus far in the discussion, as well as many contributors to this forum (April Pulley Sayre, Sy Montgomery, Gretchen Woelfle, Joyce Sidman, etc.)?and want to underscore how important their words are in conv eying what it really means to be part of a living, varied world.


Sara St. Antoine Series Editor, Milkweed Editions Senior Writer and Switzer Fellow, The Children and Nature Network

Titles in the Stories from Where We Live series: The California Coast The Great Lakes The Great North American Prairie The Gulf Coast The North Atlantic Coast The South Atlantic Coast & Piedmont
Received on Wed 03 Jun 2009 08:20:29 PM CDT