Celebrate Earth Day with Us!!

Sea turtles hatching

Part of caring for the earth is rescuing endangered animals. Leap Books author Bonnie J. Doerr is passionate about saving species from extinction. She pours her passion into her books--eco-mysteries where green teens capture poachers and clean up the environment at the same time. But Bonnie doesn't just write about the endangered animals, she does hands-on research. Here's Bonnie on a pelican release:

Bonnie J. Doerr researching for her third eco-mystery about pelicans

And at the Key Deer Refuge in the Florida Keys:

Bonnie with a full-grown Key deer

And here are a few videos about Bonnie's research:





While in the Florida Keys to research for her books, Bonnie spent time doing interviews and making videos to let people know about the problems endangered species face:





Bonnie's books include the EPIC award-winning tween novel, Island Sting, about the Florida Key deer,

and the Green Earth award finalist, Stakeout, about loggerhead and hawksbill turtles:

In an interview with the Authors for Earth Day blog, Bonnie explained why she writes her books:

"My dream is to rekindle that spark of wonder and fascination with wild things by providing fun, fast-paced stories featuring young teens as environmental heroes. I write stories that organically show, rather than tell, young impressionable readers how fragile our environment is. I write especially for ages ten to thirteen. Readers this age are shaping enduring personal goals and values." Bonnie hopes those values include caring for our fragile planet.

To learn more about Bonnie J. Doerr, visit her website and her blog BonnieBlogsGreen. Bonnie is also featured on the Girl Scout website, Aurora Reviews (who gave Stakeout a 5-star review), and TBR.

To celebrate Earth Day, Island Sting and Stakeout are both on sale in the Leap Books store for 40% off. And the Island Sting e-book is FREE for Amazon Prime members and only 99 cents for other Amazon shoppers. Watch for the Stakeout e-book coming soon.

If you leave a comment below from now until April 30, 2012, your name will be entered in drawing for a free e-book or an autographed paperback of Stakeout or Island Sting. Enter as often as you wish. And let us know if you send friends, and we'll give you an extra entry.

Go forth and be GREEN!

2012 Green Earth Award finalist

Congratulations to Bonnie J. Doerr, whose eco-mystery Stakeout has been chosen as a finalist in the YA division for the Green Earth Award.

Given by the Newton Marasco Foundation (NMF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is "to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards." Each year the foundation chooses books that "inspire children to grow a deeper appreciation, respect, and responsibility for their natural environment" in several ages categories from picture book to young adult. In addition to receiving a monetary award, the author's books will be donated to Title I schools or military bases in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and/or Washington, DC.

Many authors hope for literary recognition, but Doerr said she's thrilled with this award because it shows her message about caring for the earth is getting through. Doerr's main character, Kenzie Ryan, and her sidekicks, Angelo and Ana, not only risk their lives to save endangered sea turtles from extinction, but they also clean up pollution and convince local stores to use cloth bags rather than plastic ones (which sometimes choke animals to death). A former science and reading teacher, Doerr has always dreamed of writing books that inspire teens to be green.