Swedish teen energizes children to protest for the planet

Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet

By Jeanette Winter

Beach Lane Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2019

Greta was 15 when her teacher talked to the class about the climate. She taught them that the planet is getting warmer, the polar ice is melting, and life on Earth is threatened.

Greta started reading for hours and watching films, educating herself about the warming world. She became more and more upset.  She thought, “Our house is on fire!”

Would there be a world to live in when she grew up? She wondered what she could do.

She decided to go on strike from school to call attention to the problem. She would skip school every Friday and sit on the steps of the Swedish Parliament building with a sign. Her parents supported her.

She sat on the steps every Friday, no matter the weather.

Then word of the strike began to spread. Other children joined her. On Fridays, the Stockholm schools became almost empty.

The media began talking about the strikes, and word spread through cyberspace.

Greta was asked to speak at the United Nations climate talks in Poland. She had always been very quiet and kept to herself. But she cared so much about this issue that she accepted the invitation.

“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes,” she said.

She was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She spoke because she thought she needed to speak.

“I don’t want you to be hopeful,” she said. “I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day … I want you to act as if the house was on fire. Because it is.”

Greta’s protest sparked a worldwide children’s march. “Her quiet voice, joined by thousands of voices, became a roar,” writes Winter.

Winter’s colorful illustrations bring the story to life.

This book will teach youngsters about climate change and pique their interest because they see what a big difference one young person can make.

This week Greta has again made the national news for speaking out at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York. She chastised world leaders for not doing enough about climate change. “How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”

About the Author and Illustrator

Jeanette Winter is an American author and illustrator, best known for her children's books, many of which are about notable women in history, especially artists. She is particularly known for her painted illustration style, which uses flat planes of color and "uncluttered" compositions, a style which has drawn comparisons to the folk art tradition. She lives in New York City.