“Honoring Our Planet! THINK!” by Linda  Miller

Sheri Miller’s tribute to her mother is the Earth Day-adjacent release of the book Honoring Our Planet! THINK!, with the subtile: A Book About Celebrating Mother Earth. The fact the book is a tribute, not just a focus on making environmentalism communicable to a wide audience, is part of its particular charm. Expertly summarized in the briefing, Sheri’s determination to finish a work embodying her mother’s values was at the core of what made THINK! become a definitive reality. “Linda was a dedicated children’s educator and speech pathologist, passionate about music, singing, teaching, and environmental care.

Her final wish was to share her deep love for the planet through a children’s book—a wish that her daughter, Sheri Miller, a gifted artist and songwriter has honored and realized,” it states. “Known for her tender, instant classics like Born to Love inspired by the natural world, and a catalog that has been celebrated for its powerful emotion and lyricism, Sheri brings her abundant talent to this project. With a career punctuated by collaborations with GRAMMY-winning artists, music performances on shows like NBC’s Today In Nashville, and over one million Spotify streams for her songs, Sheri paused her rise in music to embark on a deeply personal, soulful journey. Completing THINK! became a profound act of love—a gift that weaves together her mother’s legacy with her own artistic vision in appreciating our beautiful planet.”

I would say Sheri has succeeded in that goal. The book is so assured and accomplished on multiple levels, from the gorgeous illustrations, to the simple but effective exercises, to the intention so clearly laid out on every page. It’s moving when you see something that holds deep, personal significance to those behind its creation. It lets you in a little bit on something more, and in doing so seems to account even more so for what Linda and Sheri would have wanted from the get-go. “…(the book) invites readers to embark on a thrilling journey of exploration and world of possibilities, offering a powerful message about the importance of caring for our Earth. It’s a call to inspired action, a feel-good message of empowerment, encouraging everyone to consider the legacy they wish to leave for future generations—a healthier, more vibrant planet. For those excited about sharing the book with a wider audience, Sheri appreciates gifting it to local children’s libraries or elementary schools, spreading the empowering, positive message of environmental care and celebration of our planet’s diversity and spectacular beauty.”

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Honoring-Planet-THINK-Linda-Miller/dp/1684980968

Spectacular beauty indeed. Part of what any effective picture book does is convey complex ideas and interactions in encapsulated, simplified form. The ability to communicate like this is not something solely beneficial for children. It’s beneficial for everyone. Ironically, for us jaded adults, being able to boil things down to their bare, wholly understandable essentials is the key to mastering any issue. Ever hear of the phrase ‘break it down for us like we’re five-year-olds?’ It works, and Honoring Our Planet! THINK!: A Book About Celebrating Mother Earth is a wholesome extension of that expertise.

Nicole Killian