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.

Strangers in Their Own Land

by Arlie Russell Hochschild

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Death, Climate, Environment, Place, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, US History, American Literature, Social Science, Business & Economics, World History, Social Justice

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (2016) is an in-depth exploration of the rise of the Tea Party movement in Louisiana by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. In an effort to understand the Tea Party and bolster her empathy for political opinions oppositional to her own, Hochschild spent five years getting to know residents and conducting interviews in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hochschild argues that by understanding one another’s... Read Strangers in Their Own Land Summary

Strawberry Girl

by Lois Lenski

Publication year 1945

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Childhood & Youth, Environment, Family, Social Class, Gender Identity

Tags Historical Fiction, Agriculture, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

... Read Strawberry Girl Summary

Sultana's Dream

by Begum Rokeya

Publication year 1905

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Femininity, Education, Environment

Tags Science Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Indian Literature, Asian Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

The author of “Sultana’s Dream” is Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, popularly known as Begum Rokeya (“Begum” is the Urdu equivalent of Mrs.). The story is a science fiction social satire that features a feminist utopia called Ladyland. As the title suggests, the narrative takes the form of a dream that the narrator experiences. The narrator is a woman called Sultana (the Arabic title for an empress or the wife of a sultan). The story was originally... Read Sultana's Dream Summary

Swamplandia

by Karen Russell

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Coming of Age, Environment

Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Southern Gothic, Modern Classic Fiction

Swamplandia! is a 2011 novel by the American author Karen Russell. It is an adaptation of her short story “Ava Wrestles the Alligator,” first published in the Summer 2006 issue of the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story and later collected in her 2006 book of short stories, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. It was longlisted for the Orange Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.A Miami native, Russell uses magical realism... Read Swamplandia Summary

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1891

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Social Class, Community, Environment, Shame & Pride

Tags Romance, Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature, World History, Victorian Era

Tess of the D’Urbervilles is Victorian writer Thomas Hardy’s 12th novel. It was first published in 1891 as a serial in the newspaper The Graphic; this serialized publication was followed by a three-volume edition in 1891 and a single volume in 1892. Like many of Hardy’s other realist novels, Tess is set in the fictional, southwestern English region of Wessex, using fictional locations closely modelled after real ones. Hardy’s sympathetic portrayal of a young woman... Read Tess of the D'Urbervilles Summary

Thanatopsis

by William Cullen Bryant

Publication year 1817

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Death, Place, Fate, Community, Environment

Tags Lyric Poem, Science & Nature, Grief & Death, Romanticism, Education, Education, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

... Read Thanatopsis Summary

The 100

by Kass Morgan

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Environment, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Justice

Tags Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

... Read The 100 Summary

The All of It

by Jeannette Haien

Publication year 1986

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Language, Mental Health, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Environment, Plants, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Education, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Literary Fiction

... Read The All of It Summary

The Antidote

by Karen Russell

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Perseverance, Grief, Regret, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Race, Coming of Age, The Past, Climate, Environment, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

Competitor... Read The Antidote Summary

The Back of the Turtle

by Thomas King

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Fate, Community, Power & Greed, Climate

Tags Fantasy, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature

The Back of the Turtle (2014) is a bestselling novel by Canadian American author Thomas King. King is of Cherokee Greek descent and has garnered acclaim for his novels about Indigenous Canadian experiences, including The Inconvenient Indian and Green Grass Running Water. The Back of the Turtle won King the Governor General’s literary award.The narrative follows Gabriel Quinn, a member of the First Nations community of Lethbridge, Alberta, as he returns to his family’s home... Read The Back of the Turtle Summary

The Bar Code Tattoo

by Suzanne Weyn

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Social Class, Politics & Government, Art, Equality, Justice, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Futurism

white... Read The Bar Code Tattoo Summary

The Battle of the Labyrinth

by Rick Riordan

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Environment, Teamwork

Tags Mythology, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Animals, Arts & Culture, Climate Change, European History, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure

The Battle of the Labyrinth is a fantasy-adventure novel inspired Greek mythology and written in 2008 by Rick Riordan. It is the fourth in the Percy Jackson series.The novel begins with Percy Jackson is at his freshman orientation at Good High School. Rachel Elizabeth Dare helps him fight two empousai, spectres who were disguised as cheerleaders. Percy flees to Camp Half-Blood, but Rachel remains. Percy is reunited with Annabeth, and they learn Grover is in... Read The Battle of the Labyrinth Summary

The Bear

by William Faulkner

Publication year 1942

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Environment, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Animals, Science & Nature, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Southern Gothic, Reconstruction Era, US History, Southern Literature, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

“The Bear” is a work of short fiction by William Faulkner, first published in The Saturday Evening Post in May 1942. Faulkner subsequently expanded the story and included it in Go Down, Moses, a collection of related short stories sometimes considered a novel, published later that year. An abbreviated version also appears in his 1955 anthology, Big Woods. As historical fiction set in an imagined Mississippi county, “The Bear” traces a young man’s development in... Read The Bear Summary