Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another beautiful and insightful non-fiction read, this time written by journalist, broadcaster and climate/nature expert, Lucy Siegle! I read another book based on nature and its effects earlier in the year, The Wild Remedy, which I absolutely loved, and this one, even though it’s set out a lot differently, was just as lovely to read and learn from. I’m thrilled to be joining Love Books Tours on today’s tour for Be The Ultimate Friend Of The Earth. Check out the other reviews from these brilliant book bloggers!

About the book:

How much do you know about the state of our planet and the journey we’re on to reach a more sustainable future? Journalist and broadcaster Lucy Siegle tackles ten big topics involved in our quest to reach net zero and, through stories and revealing questions, probes your understanding of what we can all do to get there.

Divided into ten important topics, and including revealing questions on recycling and reusing, the importance of flora and fauna and planet-friendly food, find out how much you really know about how our consumer habits and lifestyles are affecting the environment, and the positive changes we can make now to ensure we’re all true friends of the earth. Packed full of stories and tips that show the people, the projects and the places that are already living as if this planet was precious, this is an essential handbook for anyone looking to improve their understanding of how we can all have a positive impact on Planet Earth. 

My thoughts:

Instantly, I loved how the author addresses us in the introduction to the book. She talks to us like we’re in the same room having a face to face conversation, and this little bit of personalisation made me feel right at home. The way she writes just gave me the feel of someone who really knows their stuff, so I was confident I’d learn a thing or two! Even though short, the introduction sets us up well for what was to come and we’re even given a brief explanation of how to use the book to the fullest which was really helpful. I was looking forward to getting to the questions and learning more about the important topics that matter to each and every one of us on Earth; nature and the climate.

There are 10 sections to this book, with each section split into information and quiz-style questions. It’s recommended you visit each section in order, but it’s not necessary to do so. It felt very satisfying to read and learn about a particular topic in detail, and it took me back to some of my favourite Geography lessons at school when I was a kid! However, some of the questions were more difficult for me than I thought they’d be, which made me realise that I really needed to read more on the topic and educate myself. Thankfully, it seemed like this book had all the information I’d need to start that journey and to really learn what I needed to do to play my part and help the planet. The book provides the answers to each question (thankfully) and these answers were equally as informative as the start of each section was. (I just wish I was better at retaining information!)

As each section passed, I could feel myself keeping some of that important information in my brain which felt very satisfying, like the book was doing its job well! There we separate “Did You Know?” sections in the book, and strangely these were the bits that stuck in my head the most. They were super interesting and fit in well with each topic. The author’s passion is so clear the more you read and learn, and this passion was so easily passed onto me too. It’s so easy to overlook our current climate emergency, but when you have such a fantastic tool like this book at hand, it certainly makes you think twice.

I’ve made the decision to not share my overall score with you (it is, quite frankly, TOO EMBARRASSING 😂) but joking aside, the fact that most people will score low on their first read through is a little frightening. Just how much are we harming the planet? How can we encourage people to do their part and help our planet before it really is too late? How can we educate everyone to make the right decisions? I’m confident this book has the information you need. A great tool, one that I’ll be rereading again in future (and I’ll hopefully improve my climate and nature IQ score!)

Overall thoughts

An eye-opening and very real book that puts so much into perspective. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about nature and the climate, as well as our current climate emergency, then this book is the perfect tool. There are certain facts that may scare you about where the planet is heading, but we can all work together right now to make a positive change and be true friends of the Earth. The fact you can test your knowledge all the way through this book is just an added bonus. I can definitely recommend this!

Huge thanks to the author, Lucy Siegle and Love Books Tours for my copy of this brilliant book and my place on the book tour! You can grab your own copy of Be The Ultimate Friend Of The Earth from Amazon, available on Kindle and in paperback.

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