 |
Cultivating Sustainable Futures Through Children’s Environmental Literature: Meet Sneed B. Collard III, Children’s Author
By Rebecca Woodard and Kristine M. Schutz
Document: Column
Introductory Paragraph: This is the final column in a three-part series designed to introduce readers to children’s book authors and illustrators who care about the environment and sustainability. In the last issue, we featured Lita Judge and her beautiful book, The Wisdom of Trees: How Trees Work Together to Form a Natural Kingdom (see Schutz & Woodard, 2025). In this final issue, we will introduce you to Sneed B. Collard III, author of over 80 books, including many children’s books with an environmental focus. Several recurring themes in his work include climate change and environmental protection, restoration ecology, biodiversity, and birds. Like our previously featured authors Diana Sudyka and Lita Judge, Sneed has always been mesmerized by the natural world. He actually began writing after graduating with a degree in Marine Science from the University of California at Berkeley. He treasures time to get outside to explore and to contribute to a healthier, safer Earth. In fact, much of his research for his books has involved getting out into nature to closely observe and learn about animals, habitats, and more. He and his son even took up birding as a hobby, and their “big year” together (which is an informal challenge/competition among birders who attempt to identify as many species of birds as possible, by sight or sound, within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area) actually inspired a few of the books he has written, which you will learn more about in the next section. In our interview, we focused on only a handful of Sneed’s books, but we encourage you to check out his large body of work. You will definitely find some high interest texts that tackle novel topics and are sure to engage the young people you teach!
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.53.4.2025.56
Page Numbers: 56-61
|
