Since the dawn of human creativity, people everywhere have expressed awe, fear, wonder, and gratitude in response to the beauty, mystery, and power of nature. In this time of environmental catastrophes and countless books detailing the decimation, we need to remind ourselves why we must cherish and defend Earth’s living web, so we turn to nonfiction and poetry that summon veneration, empathy, gratefulness, and advocacy.
Creative Nonfiction
Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace. By Carl Safina. 2020. Holt, $30 (9781250173331).
Safina explains that all species have distinct cultures that foster learning and adaptability, looking closely at sperm whales, scarlet macaws, and chimpanzees and marveling over all that we share with other animals.
Earth’s Wild Music: Celebrating and Defending the Songs of the Natural World.…
