ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Mary Roche outlines how discussing picturebooks about conservation and climate change can help raise awareness and create in children a sense of agency around ‘being part of the solution.’ For very young children, small local changes may be all they can do, though. Striking a balance between raising awareness without causing anxiety is tricky. Mary believes that giving children time and space to discuss their worries and tease out their ideas can be facilitated by initially discussing a picture book such as ‘Oi Get off our Train’ (Burningham, 1991) or ‘Dear Greenpeace’ (James, 2006). Merely reading such picturebooks aloud is not enough; what matters is the time given to discussing these matters seriously. Children are empowered to action, albeit local, when they have been given the opportunity to engage in sustained discussion, allowed to voice their deepest thoughts and be actively listened to by their peers and by their teacher.
