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Richard Louv changed how we view and interact with nature in the New York Times best-seller Last Child in the Woods, which sparked an international movement to reconnect children with nature and introduced the term “nature-deficit disorder.” His new book The Nature Principle is a call to action for the rest of us to also reconnect with the natural world.

Does your daily nature intake include running on the treadmill with a forest scene on the TV monitor in front of you? Or perhaps playing Wii tennis with your kids — instead of playing on a real tennis court? We all — kids and adults alike — are suffering from “nature-deficit disorder.”

In The Nature Principle, Louv discusses how we can create a healthier balance between technology and nature, so that we can experience the best of technology and nature in our lives. He shows us how tapping into the restorative powers of the natural world can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. As he says in his introduction, The Nature Principle is “about the power of living in nature — not with it, but in it. We are entering the most creative period in history. The twenty-first century will be the century of human restoration in the natural world.”

Cities, communities, and organizations around the country are embracing this movement. In fact, May 6 has officially been declared the Richard Louv and Children and Nature Day in the city of San Diego! Louv is giving a call to action to change the way we live, and how much better off we’ll be for it.

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In an era when "go local," "organic food" and "sustainability" are on the tip of everyone's tongues, Harriet Fasenfest's A Householder's Guide to the Universe takes up the banner of progressive homemaking and urban farming as a way to confront the political, social and environmental issues facing our world today. Offering grass-roots practical advice on how to shop, garden, run a household, preserve and cook food, and more, Fasenfest also discusses the philosophy of householding.

In A Householder's Guide to the Universe, which is organized according to season and presented in monthly installments, Fasenfest invites the reader into her home, garden and kitchen to consider concrete tools for change. Streetwise and poetic, fierce and romantic, the book provides not only a way out of our current economic and environmental logjam but also a readable and often funny analysis of how we got there.

About the author:
Harriet Fasenfest is an avid gardener, food preserver, homemaker and lover of the soil. At 56, Harriet officially fled Main Street (and her restaurants) for the greener pastures of the backyard, where she teaches classes on householding. Born and raised in the Bronx, she currently lives in Portland, Ore.

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Advances in solar technology have made many DIY-friendly products available to consumers. These include solar water heaters, solar battery charging stations, solar-powered lights, photovoltaic shingles that provide supplementary electricity, solar heat pumps, and solar panel kits that generate primary home electrical service. Among the step-by-step projects is a solar water heating system you can build and install yourself for under $1,000; simple thermosyphon solar heat collectors for barns and outbuildings; and "heat grabbers" that you can fabricate for $50 in materials and position below a south-facing window to provide auxiliary winter heat.

Want to read more? Preview this book: How to Make a Solar Still.

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Hand-making musical instruments is part of a growing trend that even celebrities such as Johnny Depp and guitar legend Jack White are taking part in.

It doesn't require a lot of money or an expertise in woodworking and electronics, all it takes is a little creativity. In Handmade Music Factory, handyman Mike Orr guides you through the construction of eight of the most unique and imaginative instruments found anywhere ... from a one-string guitar made from a soup can, to a hubcap banjo, and a stand-up lap steel guitar made from a vintage ironing board.

There are also directions for an amp that can be assembled using inexpensive parts from the local electronics store. There's no shortage of inspiration to draw upon in creating an arsenal of instruments that look good, sound great, and deliver some foot stompin' fun!

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From The New York Times' "Queen of Green" comes the ultimate guide for finding and eliminating the toxic chemicals in your home today.

There is no longer any question that consumer products contain toxic chemicals harmful to our families. But how do we protect ourselves, and where do we start?

In Toxic Free, Debra Lynn Dadd, hailed by The New York Times as the "Queen of Green," discusses the hidden toxic chemicals already present in our homes, their varying degrees of danger, and precise, proven methods for eliminating them from our lives in a cost- effective, environmentally friendly way.

Are you suffering from unexplained headaches, fatigue, or depression? Are you worried about the link between chemicals in the home and the rising rate of cancer? Or are you just looking to save money (and the planet in the process)?

From tips and do-it-yourself formulas to world-class research and in-depth exploration and explanation, this book provides:

• a basic understanding of how toxic chemicals in consumer products affect your health;
• all the tools you need to remove these toxins from your home and body- starting today;
• and helpful guides on how to immediately save money on home-care products, as well as on the rapidly rising cost of your health care.

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Just reading the word "subsidies" may cause people's eyes to glaze over. We don't think it affects us directly, so we tune out. But it turns out that this complicated-sounding issue has an enormous impact on all of us. The Big Handout is about bad fiscal, environmental, agricultural, water, energy, health, and foreign policies. And it's a story about just one thing-subsidies. A subsidy is a grant by the government to a private business that is deemed advantageous to the public. Cotton, wheat, corn, soy, and oil are the most subsidized commodities in the United States. In this eye-opening book, New York Times best-selling author Thomas Kostigen explores government policies that cost taxpayers $200 billion per year, over $1,500 per household. In some cases we pay more for subsidized goods than we'd pay in a free market-and, in the most shocking abuses of the subsidy system, we pay for goods that aren't even produced.

The Big Handout exposes how artificial pricing hurts us and people worldwide, from our waistlines and pocketbooks to our health. By revealing just how toxic America's subsidy system has become, for everyone, The Big Handout is a wake-up call that empowers readers to effect change.

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The average kid will eat 4,000 school lunches between kindergarten and twelfth grade. But what exactly are kids eating in school lunchrooms around the country? Many parents don't quite know what their children are eating-or where it came from. As award-winning filmmaker and nutritionist Amy Kalafa discovered in researching her documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America's Children, these days it's pretty rare to find a piece of fresh fruit in your average school lunchroom amid all the chips, french fries, Pop-Tarts, chicken nuggets, and soda that's being served. But what, if anything, can parents do about it?

Written in response to the onslaught of requests she received from parents who saw her film and asked, "If I want to attempt to change the food culture in my kid's school, how on earth should I get started?!" this empowering book arms parents with the specific information and tools they need to get unhealthy-even dangerous-food out of their children's school cafeteria and to hold their schools and local and national governments accountable for ensuring that their growing children are served healthy meals at school. In Lunch Wars, Kalafa explains all the complicated issues surrounding school food; how to work with your school's "Wellness Policy"; the basics of self- operated vs. outsourced cafeterias; how to get funding for a school garden, and much more. Lunch Wars also features the inspiring stories of parents around the country who have fought for better school food and have won, as well as details Amy's quest to spark a revolution in her own school district.

For the future health and well-being of our children, the time has come for a school food revolution.

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Seeds work like magic to bring colorful birds into close view, but when special treats like homemade bird doughs and fresh fruit are offered, remarkable visitors like waxwings, orioles and thrashers stop by for a treat. Add in seed-rich ornamental grasses and fruiting shrubs, and birds will find the scene irresistible. Touting the latest research on what and when birds eat, Secrets of Backyard Bird-Feeding Success explains how nutritious food at key times of the year (during egg laying, migration and harsh weather) can mean survival—or not—for feathered friends. Readers will learn easy, practical, and low-cost ways to entice birds into stopping by regularly, along with tips on specific types of bird-friendly fare, such as nuts, nectar, berries and even bugs! A gallery of the 50 most popular backyard feeder birds lists their preferred foods and feeder styles plus behavior and migration details, so readers can anticipate and prepare for a specific bird’s arrival. Feeding backyard birds is a win-win situation for both bird and birder—the birds get a reliable source of food and bird lovers get lively song, color and motion in their welcoming backyards.

About the Author: Deborah L. Martin is a freelance editor and writer who has made appearances as a gardening expert on HGTV and elsewhere. Previously she spent more than a decade at Rodale as a garden book editor and is the author of Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips and Compost Gardening

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Many of us with busy families yearn for a slower and simpler life with our kids—one that is connected to the seasons and the natural rhythm of the year, one that has our children spending more time out of doors rather than in, one that balances out some of the busyness of our lives—the computers, the televisions, the cell phones—with a deeper connection to the Earth and an appreciation for and understanding of the natural world. The Rhythm of Family is a guide to living such a life for any family.

Following the course of a year through the passing of the seasons, this book explores the ways we can create deep family connections and meaningful memories through living in tune with the cycles of nature. From stomping around in mud boots in the spring to gathering around the woodstove in winter, our activities naturally change from season to season—from the rhythms of the seasons comes the rhythms in our homes, our hearts, our families, and our every day. Paying attention to these changes slows us down, inspires new types of creative play and exploration, instills a sense of family togetherness, and deepens an awareness of nature and self that can make our lives, days, family, and earth grow stronger.

The Rhythm of Family explores what we learn and can gain as parents and families by encouraging and experiencing creativity and nature exploration with our children, the seasons can provide us with a rhythm that brings us close to the earth, and closer to our children.

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If you can only read and reference one green thing, make it this book: an easily comprehensible, clearly presented source for green living. Everything you need to know is right here at your fingertips. Unlike a lot of other overwhelming green guides on the market, this is green decision making in bite-sized pieces. With choose it/lose it comparisons throughout, now it's simple to figure out it’s worth switching to a green detergent, what kind of plastic your sports bottle is made of, or which fish is safest to eat. Rather than spending time trying to figure out how best to go green, use this book and devote that time to making the difference.

About the Author: Mindy Pennybacker was editor-in-chief of THE GREEN GUIDE for over a decade, as well as co-founder of the affiliated website. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Sierra and The Nation, among others. This book grew out of her long-standing commitment to answering readers' questions about green living.