Would you like to win a great green book? today we got two!

Today as part of our ongoing Earth Day celebration on Facebook, we are having a giveaway of two great green books!

Here are the details: today, if we'll have by the end of the day at least 14 new members on our Facebook group, we'll have a raffle of these two green books: "Sammy and Sue Go Green Too!" by Suzanne Corso (http://www.sammyandsue.com) and "Green Beginnings" by Avrim and Vicki Topel (http://www.greenbeginningsconsulting.com).

So if you're already a member, bring on your Facebook friends to join our group, and if you haven't joined yet, you're welcome to do it today - one of these two great books can be yours!

The link to our Facebook group is: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4590684259

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

How to green your Passover seder?

Today is the time for the Passover seder, which is a Jewish ritual held on the first night (and in some places also in the second night) of Passover, which is one of my favorite Jewish holidays.

The seder is a family gathering, sitting together around the table, reading the Haggadah (he story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt), singing the holiday songs and eating the holiday's traditional food. Even President Obama will host one tomorrow at the White House.

So how do you green it up? Yahoo! Green brings you 10 good tips on how to have an eco-friendly and organic seder. I haven't found yet an Haggadah from recycled paper, but still there are other many steps you can take to make sure you celebrate the Passover in an eco-friendly style.

Enjoy your seder and Happy Passover!
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Photos from the Bulls' green reading event

As we reported here earlier the Chicago Bulls' green reading event took place last Friday, with the Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas who hosted the opening of the Green Reading & Technology Center at Pope John Paul II Catholic School. And today we have the photos!!

Firstly, here's the details from the Bulls' website: Thomas, along with Bob Love and Benny the Bull, was on hand for an official ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome a group of students to the newly renovated space which was constructed entirely with environmentally friendly and energy efficient materials.

During the past months, the Bulls completed a “Green Extreme Makeover” by renovating an existing room in the school to provide a newly furnished, painted and fully-equipped area for students to learn.

In keeping with the “green” theme, the room is equipped with 100 percent recyclable carpet, low-emitting paint, energy efficient light bulbs and computers, recycling bins, books that are made from recycled paper and eco-friendly signage with tips on global awareness.

To celebrate the opening, Thomas read out loud from the book “Planet Earth Gets Well.” The Bulls donated 100 copies of the book to the school and partner with Eco-Libris, a green business that works to balance out the paper used for books by planting trees. In honor of the donation, Eco-Libris will plant 100 trees.

The Bulls, Rush University Medical Center and ComEd coordinated the event as part of the Bulls’ ongoing Read To Achieve program, which inspires literacy among Chicago’s youth. As part of its annual commitment, the Bulls host Reading Time Outs with local children, distribute more than 5,000 new books, and build Reading and Learning rooms at Chicago youth facilities. Rush University Medical Center and ComEd are partners of the program.

Kudos to the Bulls for this wonderful event and here are some photos from the Bulls' website and are courtesy of the team:












Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Monday's green books series - 'East Garrison' by G.M. Weger

This week we're getting back to one reviewed book on Monday and today we have a great book that has it all: romance, suspense, adventure, relationship, man vs. nature and a surprising ending. And it all happens in East Garrison in California.

Our book for today is:

East Garrison


Author: G.M. Weger
G. M. Weger lives near East Garrison, in the town of Salinas, California. She works as an editor for the Department of Defense on former Army base Fort Ord.

In 1996, she moved to the Central Coast of California on former Army base Fort Ord and began driving around the haunted, empty place during lunch hours.

The inspiration for East Garrison began during one of these treks when she saw the strange juxtaposition of wildlife and deserted Army buildings and discovered the pioneer Whitcher cemetery. Since then, numerous housing developments have popped up, destroying habitat and food supply for many animals. This new construction pushed predators into residential areas that border the wild lands.

Reports of mountain lion sightings on Fort Ord and attacks in other California parks encouraged her muse, and she wrote East Garrison. As she was writing the novel she found her true love—researching the history of Fort Ord prior to the Army. Her next novel will uncover the real story of the Whitchers.

Publisher: Synergy Books

Published on: February 1, 2009

What it is about:
All Tracy Dade wants is to deliver a healthy baby and be a good mother, but she fears her unhealthy relationship with her father - a Vietnam vet suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder-will sabotage her ability to have a normal life. She decides reconciling with him is her only hope and begins a pilgrimage to Fort Ord's abandoned East Garrison to track him down. In her way stand acres of land polluted with unexploded ordnance, an overprotective husband, a dangerous predator stalking the base, and her own stubborn heart. With her labor just hours away, she's running out of time.

Why you should get it:
This is a breathtaking thriller that it is really hard to put down before the last page. G.M. Weger, just like a good chef, takes complicated ingredients like family relationships, history, man-nature coexistence and suspense and skillfully mix them into a powerful novel. She brings up important issues about the relationship of humans with nature and wildlife and the ramifications of the development of urban sprawl, including the depletion of wild ecosystems. Even if you don't live near East Garrison like the author or haven't never heard about the mountain lions before, you definitely understand these issues much better after reading the book.

Last but not least - I always like an unexpected ending!

What others say about the book:

"G.M. Weger's East Garrison is an excellent read. G.M. Weger is a true origial. She can create characters I guarantee you've never met before." - Scott Baker, Winner of the World Fantasy Award

"I read a lot of stories in my job and G.M. Weger's is one of the original and memorable." - Billy Tackett, Award-winning artist and illustrator

You can learn more about the book at the author's website - www.gmweger.com. Here's also a video of G.M. Weger from her website on the book:

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

All you have to do is to join our Earth Day celebration on our Facebook group. We're celebrating there Earth Day with tree planting, giveaway of green books and an effort to increase our group to 1000 members! Every day, until the end of the month, where at least 14 new members will be added, we will have a raffle of a green book of authors and publishers we work with, including a copy of 'East Garrison', gift of the publicist, Phenix & Phenix!

So if you're already a member, bring along more Facebook friends to the group. If you're not a member, join in and bring other friends with you. Remember - every day with more than new 14 members we'll have a new raffle and we have great books to give (check out our post tomorrow for more details).Plant a tree for every book you read!

If you're looking for other interesting green-themed books, you are invited to check out our green books page on our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Join our Facebook group Earth Day celebration with green books giveaways and tree planting!

Earth Day is just around the corner (April 22) and Eco-Libris has a busy month coming - from a celebration of green reading with the Chicago Bulls to an Earth Day campaign with Raincoast Books in Canadian Bookstores and a couple of new collaborations with publishers, including Barefoot Books, Beaufort Books and Bookhouse Publishing (check out our updates here for more information).

As busy as this month is we don't want to forget it's all about the celebration of Earth Day. This Earth day we have many green books to give away and many trees to plant. And we wish to celebrate it with as many friends as possible! We set up a goal of increasing our number of Facebook group members to at least 1,000 members by the end of the month.

We started with 581 members on April 1 and already we have 96 new members which brings us to 677 members all together! And we're not counting only new members, we're counting trees! For every new member (until we reach the 1000th member) Eco-Libris will plant a new tree with our planting partners!

And we also have great green books to give away! Since we needed at the beginning at least 14 new members a day, we decided to have a raffle of a new book each day we'll meet this goal. We're giving away great green books of an author or publisher that works with Eco-Libris! We have great books waiting for you, such as:

- Green Beginning by Avrim and Vicki Topel
- Sammy and Sue Go Green Too! by Suzanne Corso
- Little Green Books (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)
- The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales by Dawn Casey
- Gardening Eden by Michael Abbaté

And more! We'll add more information about all of the books on our wall during this month, so stay tuned and check out our group (and join it if you haven't done it yet :-) at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/wall.php?id=4590684259

With your assistance by April 30, we'll succeed to increase our community to (at least) 1,000 members and plant hundreds of new trees!

Happy and Green April!

Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Bulls opened the Green Reading & Technology Center today

The Bulls' Green Reading event, which we reported on earlier this week, took place earlier today at Pope John Paul II Catholic School in Chicago.

Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas hosted the opening of the Green Reading & Technology Center at the School. Thomas, together with Bob Love and Benny the Bull, was on hand for an official ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome a group of students to the newly renovated space which was constructed entirely with environmentally friendly and energy efficient materials.

Later on Thomas read out loud from “Planet Earth Gets Well.” As we reported, the Bulls donated 100 copies of the book to the school and partner with Eco-Libris, a green business that works to balance out the paper used for books by planting trees. In honor of the donation, 100 trees will be planted with Eco-Libris!

Here's a link to the press release of the Bulls. We hope to bring you photos from this exciting event very soon.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Monday's green books series (part 2): Earth Tales

This week we divided our Monday's green books series into two and today is the second part, with a very unique book that suits perfectly not only the upcoming Earth Day but also Passover, the Jewish holiday that we're celebrating this month.

Our book for today is:

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales

As we mentioned yesterday, in celebration of Earth Day, Barefoot Books are working together with Eco-Libris this April to plant a tree for every copy sold of this book!

Author: Dawn Casey

Dawn Casey has always been passionate about traditional tales, believing that folklore can help answer some of the toughest questions about humankind. This is Dawn s second project with Barefoot Books, following The Great Race (2006). Dawn combines writing with a career as a primary school teacher. She and her family live in East Sussex, England.

Illustrator: Anne Wilson

Anne Wilson gains much of her inspiration and sense of color from her travels. She has an MA in illustration from St. Martin's College of Art, London, and has been illustrating children's books for several years. This is Anne's fourth project for Barefoot Books, following Storytime (2005), The Great Race (2006) and We're Sailing Down the Nile (2007). Anne live s in Reading, England, with her husband and daughters.

Publisher: Barefoot Books

Published on: April 1, 2009

Reading age: Reading together: 4-8, Read alone: 6-10

What it is about:
In this beautiful anthology of folktales, young readers learn how different cultures around the world live in harmony with the rhythms and patterns of nature. Discover how to tread lightly on our precious Earth by following the easy eco-tips and trying out some of the fun and creative activities that accompany each story.

Children will discover how the residents of the Kingdom of Benin keep within the Nigerian rainforest consume less and conserve more; how the Comanche Indians respect Mother Earth by giving more than they receive; among Bali's coral reefs and volcanic mountain peaks iis the lesson that everything in nature is connected.

Why you should get it:
The stories are really special and connect you to ancient cultures. Even more, these are not just folk tales, these are the cornerstones of human relationship with mother earth, which we need to be reminded of now more than ever.

I think the uniqueness and importance of these stories can be summarized in the words of Chief Seathl, which are brought at the introduction to the American Southwest story:
"Every shining pine needle, every clearing, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods and every humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother. The rivers are our brothers; they quench our thirst and feed our children. The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man - they all share the same teeth."

Add to these stories the special hands-on activities that append each story to help children put green ideals into practice and you get a great children's book that is truly unique, important and fun.

Maybe like with the Haggadah of Pesach, which passes the story about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt from generation to generation, these stories should be told by parents to their kids every Earth Day to keep these ideas about man-mother earth relationship in our hearts and minds for good.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

All you have to do is to join our Earth Day celebration on our Facebook group. We're celebrating there Earth Day with tree planting, giveaway of green books and an effort to increase our group to 1000 members! Every day, until the end of the month, where at least 14 new members will be added, we will have a raffle of a green book of authors and publishers we work with, including a copy of 'Earth Tales', gift of Barefoot Books!

So if you're already a member, bring along more Facebook friends to the group. If you're not a member, join in and bring other friends with you. Remember - every day with more than new 14 members we'll have a new raffle and we have great books to give (check out our post tomorrow for more details).Plant a tree for every book you read!

If you're looking for other interesting green-themed books, you are invited to check out our green books page on our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net