The Global Warming Express

by Dynamo Go, Tequila Knights (Illustrator)

Overview

The Earth is in peril—through pollution, global warming, oil spills, and tragic neglect of the environment. Those who respond first are the animals. There is The Fluff, a penguin; Creamy, a harp seal; Tomás, a black bear; Flora, a polar bear; and Lady Athabasca, a whooping crane, among others. Each of them has suffered from global warming and the neglect of the environment, and wants to do something about it. They jump on a magical train powered by positive thoughts and take off to let others know about the problems Earth’s creatures are facing.

Soon afterward, they travel to Santa Fe and pick up two young girls, Marina and Joanna, who record their incredible trip. The group travels east (as well as north and south) and along the way finds other friends who have endured hardship from fire, drought, and hurricanes. Their final destination is the White House where they hope their call for help is heard.

With this book, young readers can join The Fluff and friends on the Global Warming Express to save our beautiful planet from pollution and global warming. It will be a trip worth taking!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938288937
Publisher:	Terra Nova Books
Publication date:	09/01/2017
Pages:	132
Sales rank:	1,279,893
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	1 - 16 Years

About the Author

Author Marina Weber is in the ninth grade at Desert Academy. She has been a passionate activist since she was six. Marina believes in righting wrongs and in helping others to be heard, seen, and assisted. She is also fearless and single-minded when it comes to completing her quest. On the journey of the Global Warming Express, Marina learns a big lesson about the limited power of grownups and her own emerging power; and she learns that not every journey—in fact almost none—moves in straight lines or has the outcome you expect.

Illustrator Joanna Whysner also attends Desert Academy. She has been a serious artist since she was very young, and has won many prizes for her art. In the story, Joanna creates her world on paper, in line and color and form. Her sense of mischief and humor help her turn every drawing into a commentary. The journey of the Global Warming Express prompts Joanna to look beneath the surface of her images, and to find the courage to portray what is scary as well as what is nice. She comes to realize that the truth must be told, but that it can be accepted and even embraced.

Read an Excerpt

The train was suddenly tossed in the air as if it weighed nothing. Then, just as suddenly, it flew down to Earth, landed on what was left of the pavement, and started speeding through New York City again. The storm was over, but much of the city was ruined. The screen showed them images of destruction from all over New York. Even the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island had been affected.

“Oh, my!” Flora cried. “What a terrible mess!” Creamy started crying again, as everyone saw the city houses, buildings, subways, and parks that had been flooded or ruined. Inoah started to cry—or screech—again. “It’s no use,” she sobbed. “I don’t think this can be fixed just by seeing the president.” Zingo suddenly stood up on a chair and declared: “You’re right! You can’t just leave this to the president. He may be in charge, but he’s only one dude. Real change takes a movement, a happening, a whole new mindset. You have to act. Because of climate change, this storm is one of the biggest to ever hit the East Coast,” he said, shaking his fist. “It’s your responsibility to create your own wonderful future! You guys can do this! I know you can! Look how far you’ve come already!”

He pumped his fist in the air, and the animals all cried out in agreement.

“Now I need to leave you,” he said. “I have to see how my home held up. But remember: You guys have the power to fix this problem. Take it from someone who knows how to change in order to survive. Goodbye!”

“Goodbye!” cried all the animals. “Good luck, Zingo!” They watched as he slipped out the door.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Characters xv

Map xx

Introduction 1

The Fluff 7

Creamy 13

The Magic Train 17

New Mexico 23

Fire 27

The Greenhouse Effect 33

Flora 39

Edgar 43

The Tipping Point 49

The Tar Sands 55

Lady Athabasca 67

The Gulf Coast 73

Acorn Creek 83

New York City 91

The Storm 97

The White House 105

Resources 113

Editorial Reviews

"A memorable book. A modern-day fable sounding the alarm about the very real challenge of climate change." —- Tom Udall, U.S. Senator for New Mexico

From the Publisher

The effects of climate change on animal habitats are presented as a fanciful tale of the two young book creators, Marina and Joanna, and their quest featuring an ever-increasing collection of endangered animals. The two intend to visit Washington, D.C., to talk to the president of the United States about slowing global warming. The journey begins in Antarctica with the Fluff, an emperor penguin with questions about the changes he sees in the ocean. He seeks out an old friend, Creamy, a harp seal living in a zoo in California, to help him understand his changing world. Creamy has become knowledgeable about the environment from talking to other animals at the zoo. The penguin and the seal realize they need help from humans to change what is happening to the world. An old zoo train is transformed by the power of their positivity into “The Global Warming Express.” Fluff and Creamy fuel the train with their happy, positive thoughts, and the train leads them to Marina and Joanna in New Mexico. Through the stories of affected animals across the continent who hop on the train, facts about climate change and the environment are thoughtfully presented in a creative, engaging manner. The author and illustrator are middle school students who created this book to make a difference. They have made the issue of global warming accessible, and readers will be inspired by their sincerity. Reviewer: Debbie Kirchhoff; Ages 11 to 15.

VOYA, December 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 5) - Debbie Kirchhoff