Ten books about looking after the planet.

This 10-book collection takes children from the ocean floor to the treetops and back again — coral reefs, rainforests, night skies, endangered animals, and the small everyday actions that add up. The books are hopeful rather than frightening, which matters enormously for this age group: children who feel responsible act, children who feel afraid switch off.

Why early learning services buy this set

Sustainability is one of the harder things to evidence well. Recycling bins and a worm farm demonstrate a practice; showing children's learning about environmental responsibility is a different task.

Books about this can help enourmously. A read-aloud generates conversation, and conversation generates the observations and quotes that go into a QIP. This set is built to support NQS Element 3.2.3 (the service cares for the environment and supports children to become environmentally responsible) and EYLF Learning Outcome 2 (children are connected with and contribute to their world).

It also spreads across topics deliberately. Ocean, forest, sky, habitat, endangered species and everyday action means a service can run sustainability as a term-long focus rather than a single week, with a different book anchoring each fortnight.

Ages 3–6. Ten books, $33 for the set — RRP $170. That's $3.30 a book.

Frequently asked questions about the Little Eco Explorers collection

What books are in the Little Eco Explorers collection?

Ten titles: Small Steps, Big Change; The World Within Me; Dear Earth; Look to the Skies; Where in the Wild; Who Owns the Woods?; Like the Ocean We Rise; Our Tree; As the World Goes By; and The Last Tiger.

How do you teach sustainability in early childhood?

Start with what children can see and touch — a tree in the yard, a bird overhead, what goes in which bin — and connect it outward. Picture books work well because they give children language for ideas that are otherwise abstract, and because a shared story generates the conversation that makes learning visible. Keep it hopeful and action-focused rather than alarming; young children respond to what they can do, not to what is going wrong.

Which NQS element covers sustainability?

Element 3.2.3, Environmentally responsible, under Quality Area 3. It requires that the service cares for the environment and supports children to become environmentally responsible. It connects to EYLF Learning Outcome 2 — children are connected with and contribute to their world.

What are good books about the environment for preschoolers?

Look for books that are hopeful rather than frightening, that show children doing something rather than adults explaining, and that cover different habitats so the topic doesn't narrow to one idea. This collection spans oceans, forests, skies, habitats, endangered animals and everyday action.

Do these work as gifts?

Yes, and this is one of the main reasons services buy them. Because the books come as an affordable set, every child can be given their own, which suits graduation and end-of-year gifting, Book Week, and services that give each child a book a month. The individual books also make great, affordable party-bag or birthday ideas.

What age is this collection for?

Ages 3 to 6. The set suits preschool and kindergarten rooms, and works as a group read-aloud or as a term-long sustainability focus.

How much is the Little Eco Explorers collection?

$33 for all ten books, against an RRP of $170 — $3.30 a book. We sell them as a set rather than individually.