Some seek to convey the wonder of endangered animals while others give tips on how to tackle waste or tell tales of inspirational environmental activists. All are part of what children’s publishers are calling “the Greta Thunberg effect”: a boom in books aimed at empowering young people to save the planet. The number of new children’s books looking at the climate crisis, global heating and the natural world has more than doubled over the past 12 months, according to data from Nielsen Book Research shared with the Observer. Sales have also doubled. Whether it’s beautifully illustrated factual books like A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals, apocalyptic climate catastrophe novels such as Where the River Runs Gold or how-to guides such as Kids Fight Plastic, publishers are targeting a plethora of new fiction and nonfiction titles at young readers inspired by Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate emergency campaigner. Earth Heroes, which features Thunberg on its cover, is one of them. A collection of stories by travel journalist Lily Dyu about 20 individual inventors and conservationists around the world, including Sir David Attenborough, Yin Yuzhen, Stella McCartney and Thunberg, it was snapped up in June by children’s publishers Nosy Crow. “I absolutely would say there has been a Greta Thunberg effect,” says Rachel Kellehar, head of nonfiction. “She has galvanised the appetite of young people for change, and that has galvanised our appetite, as publishers, for stories that empower our readers to make those changes.” To view the full article visit the Guardian.
