CANOPY BLOG

Canopy’s ultimate reading list: Earth Month edition

By Canopy Team on March 31, 2022

There are two global holidays happening this April: international Earth Day on April 22 and National Arbor Day on April 29. This month Canopy’s contribution to our favorite tree books introduces works featuring different aspects of climate change and the history of reforestation.

Mark your calendar for a special Canopy Give Back Night at Books Inc. in Mountain View on National Arbor Day, April 29, from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.! See how your in-store purchase can support Canopy as we continue bringing nature into neighborhoods on our calendar.

A Trillion Trees book cover

A Trillion Trees: Restoring Our Forests by Trusting in Nature by Fred Pearce

Pearce has a provocative argument: planting more trees isn’t the answer to declining forests. If given room and left to their own devices, forests and the people who live in them will fight back to restore their own domain.

Buy it

Forests: A Very Short Introduction book cover

Forests: A Very Short Introduction by Jaboury Ghazoul

Ghazoul explores our contrasting interactions with forests, as well as their origins, concluding with an examination of the recent history of deforestation, transitions to reforestation, and the future outlook for forests, particularly in the context of expected climate change.

Buy it

The Man Who Planted Trees: A story of lost groves, the science of tree, and a plan to save the planet by Jim Robbins

A timeless story about what one person can do to restore the earth. The hero spends his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren area in France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape- from one devoid of life to one full of life.

Buy it

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan

A dramatic account of the worst forest fire in American history by the author of the National Book Award–winning The Worst Hard Time.

Buy it

A Forest Journey: The Story of Trees and Civilization by John Perlin

Ancient writers observed that forests always recede as civilizations develop and grow. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that before civilization began, “even the pine tree stood on its own very hills” but when civilization took over, “the mountain oak, the pine were felled.”

Buy it

Where to find these books:

  1. The library: Visiting the local library is our favorite way to support a community institution and promoting reuse rather than new production of trees into paper.
  2. Second-hand bookstore: Can’t find these at your library but want to support a local business? Find a used bookstore and help give these pre-owned paperbacks new life.
  3. Local bookstore: Okay, okay. My library doesn’t own this book and the used bookstore doesn’t have it in stock – what now? With many of the recommendations, we’ve linked to the book on the Books Inc. website, an independently owned and operated bookseller with 10 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and a history dating back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851.

Happy reading!

Other topics in this series: Plant wisdom, Black History Month, California edition, Photo books, National Field Guides, Narrative books

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