History Smashers: Earth Day and the Environment

Myths! Lies! Recycling scams? Discover the real story behind the first Earth Day celebration and some of the biggest US climate catastrophes--and their solutions! Don't miss the award-winning History Smashers series as they get to the truth on the biggest environmental fibs!

In April 1970, twenty million people grabbed their rakes, gloves, and recycling bins to celebrate the first Earth Day. Since that environmental kickoff, nature has never been in better shape. RIGHT?

WRONG! The real deal is a bit muddier than that. It's true that the first Earth Day encouraged people around the globe to clean up their act when it came to the environment. But activists have been working for centuries to save the planet! Native people across the world developed sustainable farming practices, women in eighteenth-century India stood up to protect trees, and amateur scientist Eunice Foote discovered the science behind global warming all the way back in the 1850s!

Join the History Smashers team to bust history's biggest misconceptions and figure out what in the world really went down before (and after!) the first Earth Day--and how you can join the fight to protect the environment.

Ready to bust new myths? Check out more titles in the History Smashers series: The Mayflower - Plagues & Pandemics - The Titanic - The Underground Railroad - The Salem Witch Trials

Author: Kate Messner
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 03/11/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 7.50h x 5.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780593705308
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2025
School Library Journal 03/01/2025 pg. 94
Booklist 03/01/2025 pg. 88

About the Author
Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books that encourage kids to wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books, like Over and Under the Snow; novels, like Breakout and Chirp; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series and the popular Ranger in Time chapter books; and works of nonfiction with a focus on nature and history. Before becoming a full-time writer, Kate was a TV journalist and a National Board-certified middle school English teacher. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family and has managed to summit all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks between book deadlines.

Justin Greenwood is an artist best known for his work on comic book series, including Torrent, Area 510, Stumptown, Crone, The Last Siege, and The Fuse, and the nonfiction graphic novel Alexander Hamilton: The Graphic History of an American Founding Father. Born and raised in the Bay Area, he attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and graduated with a BFA in traditional illustration. When he's not drawing, you can find him hanging with his wife and kids around the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, pretending to pan for gold while trying to sneak an occasional nap.