8. Stories that take account of human interventions in the natural world and human relationships to natural systems

Human actions and constructions have ruined beautiful ecosystems, polluted waters, destroyed species, and made the climate change very fast and unpredictably. This reality will be present, to some extent, for all children – more, certainly, for those whose countries are about to disappear beneath the rising seas or whose neighborhoods are no longer viable because of water shortages, floods, or wildfires. Philosophy has to help people experience and think about painful ethical and political realities, finding their way as actors in a world where many irrevocable decisions have already been made. To be fair, exploitation is just one of the ways humans interact with nature; people are also preservers of wild spaces and, sometimes, good neighbors for communities of plants and animals. Books in the category taking account of human interventions in the natural world and human relationships to natural systems provides resources for beginning these conversations.

When I was young, my uncle destroyed a forest on his land, to extend his plowing. It seemed a shame, but I couldn’t say how it was wrong. The land was his, and no one else was using it. Did the land itself, or the animals and plants on it, have rights, or was the forest in some way sacred? That question stays with me, for all the interesting spaces I know that could easily be paved over or plowed or somehow sabotaged. It extends now to species, natural ways of life, that could be made extinct.

In my uncle’s later life, he devoted time and resources to preserving a native sacred site on his property from a dam project which he believed to be unnecessary, financing a legal battle all the way to the North Dakota Supreme Court. That modeled a different idea about people’s relationship to the land and a different kind of responsibility.

In this category, as in some previous groupings, the works available form a continuum, a range of different relationships between human beings and natural spaces and systems. We hope that, as this bibliography matures, we can find depictions and explanations of relationships that go beyond familiar distinctions to take account of cultures for which the line between humans and nature is not important, or is imagined in surprising ways.

Here are some of the kinds of relationships depicted in these books: (1) Defense/conservation – preserving what is important or essential. (2) Exploitation – subordinating the purposes and integrity of natural systems to human projects and goals. (3) Consequences of climate change and environmental degradation. (4) Non-exploitative relationships: Gardens, Agriculture, Pets, and Domesticated Animals.

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Cat Way (2024) by Sara Lundberg

Maughn Gregory

When a human gives her cat a turn to lead the way on their daily walk, they encounter the unexpected. The philosophical quandaries this story raises – When do routines become too confining? How do domestic habits prevent us from experiencing the natural world? Can humans and pets have genuinely inter-species relationships? – can be discussed and experimented with by people of most ages.
Does Earth Feel? (2021) by Marc Majewski

Alaina Gostomski

With spare prose and evocative paintings, author-illustrator Marc Majewski asks fourteen critical questions -- including Does Earth feel calm? Does Earth feel curious? Does Earth feel hurt? Does Earth feel heard? -- to encourage active thinking and discussion about our planet.
Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children (2024) by Jamaica Kincaid

Maughn Gregory

In relating the origins, biological features, and uses of several familiar and unfamiliar plants, this Encyclopedia simultaneously offers a primer on colonialism, slavery, and genocide. Adults sharing this book with children should be led by children’s curiosity, but should also help them cultivate a vocabulary and historical understanding of oppression.
Out of the Fires (2023) by Carrie Lara

Peter Shea

After a fire destroys his home and neighborhood, a young boy must learn what it means to be resilient. Things may never be "normal" again, but he discovers that he is strong―even when hard things happen. The book, written as a journal, includes drawings, news clippings, and coping strategies to help children cultivate resilience after a natural disaster.
Simone (2024) by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Peter Shea

When Simone is awakened by her mom as a wildfire threatens their home, it is the beginning of a life-changing journey. Coziness and comfort disappear in an instant, without much warning, as wildfires threaten peaceful neighborhoods and families seek makeshift shelters, with little hope of going back to normal. Joined by other children sheltering in the gym, Simone, a budding artist, encourages everyone to draw as a way to process their situation.
Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence (2023) by Sonja Thomas

Maughn Rollins Gregory

When twelve-year-old Mira Williams’s companion and confidant, the cat Sir Fig Newton, contracts diabetes, her parents say she may have to give him to someone who can afford his treatment. The resources Mira will need to save Fig and keep him close include ingenuity, family ties, friendships, and the kind of faith she finds can be compatible with science. Thomas’ novel shows a teenager’s sophisticated engagement with complex questions of race, faith, science, and relationships.