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.

The Romance of the Forest

by Ann Radcliffe

Publication year 1791

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Environment, Place, Art, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gothic Literature

The Romance of the Forest (1791) by British author and poet Ann Radcliffe is one of the definitive examples of the Gothic novel. Radcliffe’s books influenced many later Romantic and Victorian writers in Europe and the United States, and several of the tropes she relied on became standard for the genre. While her first novel, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne (1789), and second, A Sicilian Romance (1790), were not widely noted, The Romance of... Read The Romance of the Forest Summary

The Scarlet Ibis

by James Hurst

Publication year 1960

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Death, Plants, Environment, Coming of Age

Tags Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction, American Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction

First published in The Atlantic in 1960, James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis” won the magazine’s “Atlantic First” award. Frequently included in literature anthologies, Hurst’s tragic short story explores themes of pride, shame, and death within the context of coming of age.This guide refers to the 1960 version that appeared in The Atlantic as well as the brief biographical information included in that original publication.Content Warning: The source text uses outdated, offensive terms to describe people... Read The Scarlet Ibis Summary

The Scorpio Races

by Maggie Stiefvater

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Environment

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure

The Scorpio Races (2011) is a young adult fantasy romance novel by Maggie Stiefvater. It takes place on the small fictional island of Thisby. Each November, the majestic yet dangerous capaill uisce, or water horses, emerge from the water, and men capture and train them for the infamous Scorpio Races. Sean Kendrick, whose father died in the races when Sean was 10, has spent his life training horses and raising them for the wealthy Benjamin... Read The Scorpio Races Summary

The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Publication year 1910

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Self Discovery, Environment

Tags Children`s Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Grief & Death, World History, Fantasy

The Secret Garden is a middle-grade novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was first published as a serialized novel in The American Magazine between November 1910 and August 1911, and in 1911, it was republished in book form. Burnett had already written two extremely successful novels: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) and A Little Princess (1905). Over her lifetime, she wrote 36 books and plays and numerous short stories and was one of the most... Read The Secret Garden Summary

The Shell Collector

by Anthony Doerr

Publication year 2002

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Environment, Fate, Loneliness, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Magical Realism, Science & Nature, Modern Classic Fiction

“The Shell Collector” (2002), a short story by American author Anthony Doerr, tells the story of an unnamed, blind shell expert living alone with his dog, Tumaini, on an isolated Kenyan island. He receives unwanted international attention after curing a local girl of malaria by exposing her to the bite of a deadly, venomous cone shell.This guide refers to the edition in the short story collection of the same name, published by Simon & Schuster... Read The Shell Collector Summary

The Sixth Extinction

by Elizabeth Kolbert

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment

Tags Science & Nature, Animals, Climate Change, World History

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (2014) is a nonfiction book about the development, impact, and extinction of various species throughout the history of the world. Written by Elizabeth Kolbert, an American author, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize winner, the book focuses on Earth’s environmental, biological, and ecological aspects and how these factors impact the world and its inhabitants. Kolbert argues that we are currently in the process of experiencing a “Sixth Extinction” caused almost entirely... Read The Sixth Extinction Summary

The Skeleton Tree

by Iain Lawrence

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Masculinity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Animals, Environment, Plants, Food, Objects & Materials, Fathers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Fate, Safety & Danger

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

... Read The Skeleton Tree Summary

The Someday Birds

by Sally J. Pla

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Animals, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Disability, Childhood & Youth, Environment

Tags Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children`s Literature, Animals, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Someday Birds Summary

The Son

by Philipp Meyer

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Loneliness, Regret, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Race, The Past, Environment, Place, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Grandparents, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Nation, War, Fate, Power & Greed, Wins & Losses

Tags Historical Fiction, Western, US History, World History

... Read The Son Summary

The Song of Hiawatha

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Publication year 1855

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Love, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Language, Race, Future, The Past, Environment, Place, Family, Colonialism, Community, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Narrative Poem, Fairy Tale & Folklore, American Literature, Romanticism, Agriculture, US History, Science & Nature

... Read The Song of Hiawatha Summary

The Song of the Lark

by Willa Cather

Publication year 1915

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Gender Identity, Environment, Place, Self Discovery, Immigration, Art, Music

Tags Music, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, American Literature

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather is the second novel in her classic American series entitled The Great Plains Trilogy. The trilogy includes O, Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Antonia (1918). Each novel in this trilogy explores different stories of women who find themselves challenged, nurtured, and built up by the natural beauty of the American West. These novels explore the conflicts and compromises when women either lean... Read The Song of the Lark Summary

The Spectator Bird

by Wallace Stegner

Publication year 1976

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Aging, Love, Environment, Immigration, Regret

Tags American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

The Spectator Bird, Wallace Stegner’s 11th novel and winner of the 1977 National Book Award, takes a hawklike view, both expansive and intimate, of such things as aging, death, love, loss, temptation, and regret. A sequel to his novel All the Little Live Things (1967), Bird follows the same protagonist and narrator, the retiree Joe Allston, but interlaces past and present, death and rebirth, memory and mythology. Stegner, who was 67 when Bird was published... Read The Spectator Bird Summary