Help GMCG bring nature books into local libraries

What started as a collaborative endeavor between Effingham Public Library volunteers and GMCG interns to provide nature-based story hours with themes that promote watershed awareness in young children, has resulted in the successful launch of GMCG’s new Sponsor-a-Book program in libraries within the Ossipee Watershed.

In February 2023, a nature themed weekly story hour was initiated at the Effingham library with GMCG AmeriCorps interns, Hailey and Grace, and library volunteers connected to GMCG. During one story hour, a child asked to borrow a book that had been read, and volunteers realized that the book was not in the library’s collection. Thus, a pilot initiative was born. Karen Payne and Katie McCarthy set out to identify and gather quality children’s nature books for the Effingham Public Library. Books were donated by GMCG volunteers and a bookplate acknowledging the Green Mountain Conservation Group was created and placed inside each book.

Pictured above: Librarians in Effingham alongside GMCG Education Committee members proudly display the colorful nature themed books offered through the program.

In May, the GMCG Education Committee, including Peter Zack, Tara Shroeder, Wendy Scribner, Karen Payne, Nancy Walser, Katie McCarthy and Louise Wrobleski, met at the Effingham library to review dozens of books donated to the library on behalf of GMCG. The books were vetted by the committee for their message, accuracy, relevance to natural resource protection, richness, and inclusion of multiple perspectives and values. The committee then chose the “cream of the crop” —books that would be wonderful resources to enrich children’s understanding and appreciation of our watershed and the creatures, wildlife and plants that also call our watershed home. From that work session, the committee compiled a list of 29 exemplary children’s books that support GMCG’s mission of protecting and conserving the natural resources of the Ossipee Watershed with an emphasis on water with the intention of providing these books for all of the libraries in Ossipee Watershed towns.

The next step in the process was to check collections in other libraries within the watershed. More than half of our choices were not available in area libraries. This information sparked an initiative to seek additional sponsors. At GMCG’sAnnual Watershed Celebration in July, many of the selected books were on display along with an invitation for individuals to sponsor a book for their local library. There was an overwhelmingly positive response, with several books sponsored for Tamworth and Ossipee libraires. A supporter in Freedom volunteered to seek donations for the Freedom library. GMCG continues to seek sponsors to fund the purchase of these books for all of the libraries in our watershed through the “Sponsor a Book” program.

A child’s interest and curiosity expressed in a simple question launched a pilot program which resulted in scores of high-quality, nature-themed and conservation-promoting books to be donated in the name of GMCG by town residents and volunteers. We ask supporters to check with your local library regarding this program. Contact GMCG about donating a book.

Let’s respond to curiosity and invite further interest with enriching, high-quality children’s books. Thank you for your support!

The Sponsor a Book list includes:

  1. Bird Identification by Peterson Audubon
  2. Along the River Bank by Petra Bartikove
  3. Water Hole by Graeme Base
  4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  5. The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
  6. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
  7. A River Ran Wild by Cherry Lynne
  8. Crossings by Katy Duffield
  9. My River by Shari Halpern
  10. Ibis: A True Whale Story by John Himmelman
  11. Luna & Me: The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
  12. We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
  13. One Child, One Planet by Bridget McGovern Llewellyn
  14. Where The River Begins by Thomas Locker
  15. All the Water in the World by George Lyon
  16. The Lost Words by Robert McFarlane
  17. The Lost Spells by Robert McFarlane
  18. The Poem Forest by W.S. Merwin
  19. Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
  20. Shark Lady: The True Story by Marta Miguens
  21. Becoming a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery
  22. Drop: An Adventure through the Water Cycle by Emily Kaye Moon
  23. One Plastic Bag: The Recycle Women of the Gambia
    by Miranda Paul
  24. The Lorax by Dr. Suess
  25. Greta and The Giants by Zoe Tucker
  26. The Water Princess—the childhood experience of model Georgie Badiel by Susan Verde
  27. Follow the Moon by Sarah Weeks
  28. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
  29. Run Wild by David Covell
  30. Our Underwater World: A First Dive into Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers by Sue Lowell Gallion
  31. The First Blade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw
  32. Little Sap by Jan Hughes
  33. Inky’s Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery
  34. I Eat Poop. by Mark Pett
  35. The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith
  36. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
Click here to Sponsor a Book
White Birch Books Gift Registry for Pine Tree Elementary School

Library Book Wish Lists

Click on the library name below to view an online spreadsheet of books that you can sponsor. Then CLICK HERE to donate the $ amount of the book and specify the book title and library.

Chocorua Library Book Wish List

Cook Memorial Library Book Wish List

Effingham Public Library Book Wish List

Freedom Public Library Book Wish List

Madison Public Library Book Wish List

Ossipee Public Library Book Wish List

Sandwich Public Library Book Wish List