Bill McKibben is an environmental activist and author. His debut book, The End of Nature, published in 1989, is regarded as the first book about climate change for a general audience. He has since written 20 books on a variety of topics, from community organization to genetic engineering, and founded the climate activism organizations 350.org and Third Act. His first picture book, We Are Better Together (Henry Holt, April 19), illustrated by Stevie Lewis, emphasizes the power of collaboration to make positive change towards a more hopeful and sustainable future. 

From the Kirkus review of We Are Better Together: “McKibben extols the power of cooperation: ‘When we work together, we can do incredible things.’ Each page shows an example of the possibilities. Lights blink on at night after a day of installing solar panels (with wind turbines in the background), trees are replanted after a forest fire, and two people help tiny sea turtles along their journey by carrying them to the water. McKibben then shifts perspectives, focusing on the motivation for these actions. An undercurrent of love runs through all: ‘It’s love that lets each of us see we’re not the most important thing on Earth, and makes us okay with that.’”

In this video interview, conducted over Zoom, McKibben discusses finding the message at the core of his previous works for this picture book, the rewards of working with activists of all ages, and what readers can look forward to in his next book—which, luckily, they can expect very soon.