Our Cities Depend on Us: Rethinking Our Urban Areas to Fight Climate Change

Tentler-Krylov spotlights global eco-innovation in this stimulating set of city profiles. Many examples showcase verdant, plant-filled spaces, such as Milan’s greenery-covered Bosco Verticale towers and Melbourne’s increasingly green-planted laneways. Waterway management unites other instances of environmental design, as in Bangkok, where Centenary Park is “designed so the sloping lawn diverts the floods away from the surrounding streets,” and in Rotterdam, where ocean-bound trash has been repurposed into the foundation of a floating park. Employing watercolor and digital techniques, architectural-sketch-like depictions of the innovations typically present the locale populated by people, portrayed with various skin tones; occasional captions draw particular attention to a place’s unique climate-aware engineering (“Rainwater tanks store and filter rainwater for future use”). The combination of bite-size summaries and delicately stylish artwork make this an ideal launchpad for further exploration. Back matter includes an author’s note. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)