Chapter 7: Children’s Literature Resources to Support Authentic Science Practices and Environmental Decision-Making: The Conservation Tales Series

In our modern world, helping citizens develop a scientific mindset is critically important. News sources are filled with stories of issues that are based on science concepts, many of which are controversial. Examples include public debates over vaccinations, climate change, genetically-modified foods, alternative energy, preventing infectious diseases, and the effectiveness of herbal supplements found in a variety of stores. In all these cases, the controversies are rooted in people’s use (or disuse) of scientific information in making decisions. Claims from different groups may be based on opinion, marketing, or even deliberate misinformation. The public is often bombarded by conflicting ideas from many sources. This is not a new situation, but research has shown that the public’s trust in scientific experts as a source of information has been declining (Gauchat, 2012; Krause et al., 2019).