Earth Day

Every April, we honor our planet on Earth Day with a selection of works celebrating the natural world. With titles ranging from stories of wilderness survival to nonfiction works about conservation and sustainability, this Collection features a broad spectrum of ideas regarding nature and our role within it.

Shelterwood

by Lisa Wingate

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, The Past, Environment, Family, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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Shipwreck

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Environment, Friendship, Teamwork, Safety & Danger

Tags Action & Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Survival Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Silent Spring

by Rachel Carson

Publication year 1962

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment

Tags Science & Nature, World History, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is widely regarded as a foundational text of the 20th century environmental movement. Originally published as a series in The New Yorker, Carson’s essays carefully articulate the impacts of widespread chemical use for insect and plant control. Throughout the text, Carson emphasizes the ways that humans disregard the interrelation of species on earth, and argues that as a result, humans are at a pivotal moment. If methods of insect control are... Read Silent Spring Summary

Slewfoot

by Brom

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Environment, Self Discovery

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, World History, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

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Snow Country

by Yasunari Kawabata

Publication year 1937

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Femininity, Environment

Tags Classic Fiction, Japanese Literature, Romance, Asian Literature, World History

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata was originally published episodically in Japanese literary journals between 1935 and 1937. It was finally published as a complete version in 1948. The novel takes place on the snowy northwestern coast of Japan and tells the story of the ill-fated romance between a geisha named Komako and her wealthy client, Shimamura. In the intimate setting of the onsen, Kawabata explores the Commodification of Female Talent and Affection, Landscapes as Metaphors... Read Snow Country Summary

So Far Gone

by Jess Walter

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Aging, Environment, Family, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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Sonnet 18

by William Shakespeare

Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Beauty, Environment

Tags Romance, Arts & Culture, Elizabethan Era

William Shakespeare is the best-known author of the English Renaissance—also known as the Early Modern Period and the Elizabethan Age. Though readers’ attention tends to be more riveted toward his plays, Shakespeare published 154 sonnets during his exceptionally prolific career, in addition to the longer-form poems Venus and Adonis (1593), The Rape of Lucrece (1594), and The Phoenix and the Turtle (1601). Fifteen editions of Venus and Adonis—a poem in the form of 199 six-line... Read Sonnet 18 Summary

Spark

by Sarah Beth Durst

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Coming of Age, Climate, Environment, Community, Nation

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction

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Speaker for the Dead

by Orson Scott Card

Publication year 1986

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Guilt, Loneliness, Future, Environment, Family, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

Speaker for the Dead (1986) is the second book in the Ender sextet written by Orson Scott Card. Card is a renowned American science fiction author and has won numerous awards for his writing, including four for Speaker of the Dead—the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Novel, and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.Speaker for the Dead is set... Read Speaker for the Dead Summary

Specials

by Scott Westerfeld

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Future, Environment, Politics & Government, Beauty

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy

Tally Youngblood has been transformed many times over. First, she was an ordinary Ugly, awaiting the cosmetic surgery that will make her into a more socially acceptable Pretty. Now, Tally has become a Special, or a surgically enhanced super-human, as well as a member of an elite group that call themselves the Cutters. In Scott Westerfeld’s Specials, a young adult novel published in 2006, Tally is tasked with upholding the conventions of her socially stratified... Read Specials Summary