Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Alarming story of teen's strike for climate change action.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When HOUSE ON FIRE, GRETA THUNBERG'S CALL TO SAVE THE PLANET begins, Greta is a quiet girl in Stockholm, Sweden (15 at the time, as we lean in the back matter), when she learns in class about melting ice caps and how climate change is threatening the lives of animals. She becomes obsessed with the topic and watches all the films she can about it. That inspires her to stage a protest, skipping school every Friday to sit outside the Parliament building with a sign saying, "School strike for climate." Soon she's joined by other students in Stockholm and other cities, who hear about her strike on the internet. In the end, students marched in protest in 43 other countries (listed in the back matter). She's invited to speak to the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she tells the assembled, "I want you to act as if the house was on fire. Because it is."
Is It Any Good?
This is an inspiring story of a Swedish teen standing up for what she believes in and becoming a world leader. Our House Is on Fire tells the story of how she became a global leader on the issue of climate change in mostly simple, brief text that kids will find relatable -- like how she felt invisible before she took up her cause and how it made her sad to see animals' habitats threatened by melting icecaps. Spare art helps makes the complex issues easy to grasp, too.
But some sophisticated vocabulary and some of the disastrous effects of climate change shown, including forest fires and floods, may be scary and disturbing for young picture book readers. Some of the messages in quotes from Greta's speeches and on protest signs on the front and back cover may sound harsh to young ears, too. Such as "You're Destroying Our Future," "Don't Burn My Future," "Coal Kills," "Stop Climate Crime," "You're Destroying Our Future," and "Help Me!"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Greta's protest in Our House Is on Fire. What do you think of her skipping school for a cause? Are you surprised so many kids around the world followed her example?
Do you believe one person can make a difference, even a kid? What other young activists have you heard of? What were they standing up for?
Do you understand what going on strike means? What other reasons do people go on strike?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Jeanette Winter
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Activism , STEM , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Beach Lane Books
- Publication date : September 24, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 3 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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