Stories for a Changing Climate – Climate Generation

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
A powerful and intense novel spanning several generations of Dakota women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools. Robin Wall Kimmerer says “The Seed Keeper invokes the strength that women, land, and plants have shared with one another through the generations.”

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
This incredible novel is a brilliant mystery that takes place on a remote island off the coast of Antarctica, where the world’s largest seed bank is stored. The family that caretakes the island are the last residents due to rising sea levels – all of the scientists and researchers have left – until a woman mysteriously washes up on shore. It is climate fiction at its finest with a truly intriguing mystery throughout.

Playground by Richard Powers
While not explicitly about climate change, Richard Powers’ latest novel is a celebration of all things oceanic, as well as a celebration of ecology and life, and how all of it can be undone before we are even aware an undoing has begun.

Hope Dies Last by Alan Weisman
This book is a study of what it means to be a human on the front lines of our planet’s existential crisis. It is a literary evocation of our current predicament and the core resolve of our species against the most precarious odds we have ever faced. The owner of Birchbark Books, Louise Erdrich, says, “Hope Dies Last is a book of heroism, courage, and selfless love. Every story is a way forward. This is one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read, full of innovation. Alan Weisman has written the exact book we need to fight for our place on Earth.”

Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
A resonant exploration of an intricate, multi-layered relationship with the most abundant element on our planet [water]–one that, as Simpson eloquently shows, is shaping our present even as it demands a radical rethinking of how we might achieve a just future.

The Great Displacement by Jake Brittle
Written with devastating urgency, these are real-life stories and accounts collected by the author of people who have been displaced from their homes and livelihoods by hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and more, all of which he clearly states will only get worse if climate change is left unaddressed.

Inflamed by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel
This book says so much about the injustices and inequality that permeate our medical systems in the US, and it does a deep dive into the way climate change and its dreadful repercussions have and will continue to affect the physical health of entire populations, with great emphasis on BIPOC communities.

The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Godell
Sometimes a title says it all.

Turtle Island by Sean Sherman (out November 11, 2025)
What better way to respect the land you’re living on than to cook food that is intimately connected to it? Exemplifying how Native foodways can teach us all to connect with the natural world around us, Turtle Island features rich narrative histories and spotlights the communities producing, gathering, and cooking these foods, including remarkable stories of ingenuity and adaptation that capture the resilience of Indigenous communities…from three-time James Beard Award-winning Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman.

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer & Monique Gray Smith
Braiding Sweetgrass is only 10 years old but has already become a classic text for many readers. This wonderful Young Adults edition was adapted by a talented children’s book author, Monique Gray Smith, ensuring the important stories from Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer are accessible for younger readers.

Indigenous Environmentalism by Katrina Phillips
Katrina Phillips writes accessible nonfiction titles for kids, and her book on Indigenous Environmentalism is a wonderful introduction to the history of Indigenous relationships to nature.