Greta Thunberg by Tracey Turner

Greta Thunberg
First Names series
by Tracey Turner; Illustrations by Tom Knight
Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2022

First Names is a new nonfiction biography series from Abrams. The series highlights individuals throughout history, and today, whose actions have made a difference. 

In, Greta Thunberg, we learn how Swedish activist, Greta Thunberg, uses her white privilege to raise awareness around the world to the dangers of not doing anything to address the catastrophic impact of climate change. 

The book begins in 2011, when eight-year-old Greta learns how societies inaction to curb our dependence on fossil fuels was destroying our planet. However, it wasn’t just watching a movie in class that highlighted that “terrible things were happening to the planet because of climate change, pollutions, and plastic waste.” What clicked for Greta was that despite all they had just learned in class, her teacher was going on a trip to New York for a wedding! “How could they talk about flying around the world when they must know that aircraft pollution was making the planet’s problems even worse!”

The comic-style illustrations, complete with word bubbles, breaks up the text and keeps readers engaged. Highly researched, this series in not just a biography, but a passionately told story of the life and action that made this person notable. 

The book also includes a timeline, glossary, source notes, bibliography, and index.

Greta’s message is pretty clear. Her call to action (stop eating meat and dairy, and stop our dependence on fossil fuels) is essential to ensuring our children and grandchildren will have a world to live in when they are 20, 30, and 40 years old. 

To see other titles in the series, click here.

To watch Greta’s TedTalk, click here. 

Post written by Louise