As a Planet Protector, these animals’ and humans’ mission is to improve the world around us by making less trash and helping others learn to reduce, reuse, and recycle! Check out these juvenile books to learn how you can become a Planet Protector.

Squirm by Hiaasen 
Billy Dickens discovers that his mysterious father lives in Montana, so this summer Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, and save his own father. 

Song for a Whale by Kelly 
Twelve-year-old Iris and her grandmother, both deaf, drive from Texas to Alaska armed with Iris’s plan to help Blue-55, a whale unable to communicate with other whales. 

The Manatee Scientists by Lourie 
Highlights the work scientists are doing to protect the manatee, an endangered species. 

The End of the Wild by Helget 
Eleven-year-old Fern helps to take care of her impoverished family by foraging for food in the forest, but when a fracking company rolls into town, she realizes that her peaceful woods and her family’s livelihood could be threatened. 

Quest for Clean Water by Bardhan-Quallen 
Purrmaids Coral, Shelly, and Angel help clean up the ocean as a school project and rescue the brother of their mermicorn friend, Sirena, who is trapped by plastic soda rings. 

Aquicorn Cove by O’Neill 
Unable to rely on the adults in her storm-ravaged seaside town, a young girl must protect a colony of magical seahorse-like creatures she discovers in the coral reef … A heartfelt story about learning to be a guardian to yourself and those you love. When Lana and her father return to their seaside hometown to help clear the debris of a big storm, Lana remembers how much she’s missed the ocean–and the strong, reassuring presence of her aunt. As Lana explores the familiar beach, she discovers something incredible: a colony of Aquicorns, small magical seahorse-like creatures that live in the coral reef. Lana rescues an injured Aquicorn and cares for it with the help of her aunt, who may know more about these strange creatures than she’s willing to admit. But when a second storm threatens to reach the town, choices made many years ago about how to coexist with the sea start to rise to the surface. Lana realizes she will need to find the strength to stand on her own, even when it means standing up to the people who she has always relied on to protect her. 

Better Off Undead by Preller 
Adrian Lazarus, who became a zombie just before starting middle school, and new friends Gia, Zander, and Talal, navigate a mystery involving global warming, disappearing bees, and billionaire developers. 

Hello from Renn Lake by Hurwitz 
In Wisconsin, as her adoptive parents open their lake cabins for summer visitors, twelve-year-old Annalise, abandoned as an infant and able to communicate with the lake, discovers a growing toxic algae bloom and teams up with her friends to save the beloved body of water. 

Sylvie, Save the Beach by Bovis 
When faced with the possible closing of her favorite beach, Sylvie first attempts a one-person coastal cleanup march on city hall, but thanks to the town clown, she realizes it will take more than one person to save the beach. 

Queen Bee and Me by McDunn 
Twelve-year-old Meg is anxious about growing apart from her best friend Beatrix, but she is also interested in learning about the quirky new student Hazel and her backyard beehive. 

Saving Wonder by Knight 
Curley Hines has lost his father, mother, and brother to coal mining, and now he lives with his grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Wonder Gap, Kentucky–but when the mining company prepares to destroy their mountain he must use the words his grandfather has taught him to save Red Hawk Mountain, even if it means losing the life he loves.