For 30 years,Chelsea Clintonhas wanted to save elephants from extinction.
Now she’s telling kids how to help save their own favorite animals with her new picture book,Don’t Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe.
“[It] was hugely important to me to include information that wasn’t only fun to learn about these animals — and wasn’t only sobering about why they’re endangered — butwas also empowering for kids aboutwhat they each could do,” the vice chair of theClinton Foundationand former first daughter, 39, told PEOPLE following a reading at the Bronx Zoo on Tuesday, which launched the book’s publication. (Clinton read amidst excited shouts of “Tiger!” and “Polar bear!” as she turned the page.)
The multi-published author continued, “I want every kid to feel like, ‘Yes, we can make a difference and we have to make a difference!’ ”
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Clinton was partly inspired to write kids’ books (she’s penned five so far) because of her own children. She and husbandMarc Mezvinsky, vice chairman of Social Capital, share sonAidan, 2½, and daughterCharlotte, 4½, and areexpecting their third childthis summer.
Chelsea Clinton during a reading at the Bronx Zoo.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
Children at the book reading.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
“Yes, these are urgent challenges and the longer we wait —whether it’s fighting climate change orsaving these endangered species, recognizing that those two issues are connected — the harder it will be,” she said. “So we should, in some ways, feel optimistic that if we start now that we have a better chance of making a difference.”
Clinton is also optimistic because endangered animals, like the bald eagle, have been saved before. For the immediate future, she hopes that people will convert to renewable energy sources, change their behavior as consumers and re-evaluate what they’re demanding of governments across the world.
Source: Chelsea Clinton/Twitter
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She has started early with her own children. Clintontalks to Charlotte and Aidan aboutclimate change and how to use energy responsibly, she said.
“We do it at home with our climate-smart light bulbs, or making sure we turn off water when we’re not using it so we’re conserving water,” she told PEOPLE last year. “Our kids help us carry out the recycling.”
Clinton is even careful when buying lipstick, which often contains palm oil. She either avoids products that contain it or looks for sustainably sourced options, because orangutans are losing their habitats to palm-oil plantations.
The author was horrified when adead whale was discovered with 88 lbs. of plastic in its stomachin the Philippines on March 15, explaining, “The dead whale last week with the 88 pounds of garbage in its stomach included [lots of] single-use plastic, which is justhorrific and horrifying to me.”
Chelsea Clinton.Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
Chelsea Clinton’s new book cover.Philomel Books
During the reading, Clinton’s passion to help save the planet successfully translated to her young audience.
“I wrote this book [after] I heard from lots of kidshow much you also care about animalsand because I wish I’d had this book as a kid,” Clinton told one 9-year-old audience member.
She explained, “I think there are really important things you can do to help educate your parents and grandparents and other people around you about what we can do to help save these animals, so that they don’t disappear.”
Don’t Let Them Disappearis on sale now atamazon.com.
source: people.com
