Postcards from a planet in peril

In this striking picture book, PS: What’s Up with the Climate written by the acclaimed climate worrier Bijal Vachharajani and published by Pratham, vexed animals exchange postcards brimming with concern about the changes in their habitat and missing friends.

The polar bear writes to the penguin about the moody weather and enquires about the missing rat. Grizzly bears can’t figure out their hibernating schedules. The ducks are finding the lake too salty to live and the efficacious bees are groggy from pesticide. A half-burnt postcard shows kangaroos fleeing from forest fires while unanswered envelopes from the extinct Golden Toad and the Mosaic-Tailed Rat leave a lump in your throat. A postcard at the end urges the reader to be a climate change champion, by penning a note to the Earth. Using this original approach, the book effortlessly yet effectively alerts children to what is happening to landscapes and animals around them and encourages them to act. The splendid illustrations by Archana Sreenivasan add to its visual appeal, attracting young and old readers alike.

By Archana Natraj