The Green Story Circle: Craft-deficient mom seeks kidlit advice

We did that thing that people do on the first day: pictures on the front door step, his little backpack on, his serious little face.  I could see him at 12, I could see him at 16, I could see him at 22.  It was all going too fast.  When we got to his school, he marched to the front of the kindergarten line and disappeared through the door without looking back.

Loki and Jessie (C) Herb Wong
This kid (whose tushie I still wipe!) has a world of his own, separate and apart from me.  And that’s cool, that’s how it should be.  But as a mom, man do I want a window in…just to check things out, to know his buds by name, to gently, quietly help shape that world a  bit.  So when his teacher wrote home, looking for parent volunteers to read in class, up shot my hand: Me! Me! Loki rolled his eyes (yeah, he does that already).  Too bad, kiddo.  The first Friday of every month, mommy is coming to school, whether you like it or not (eye-rolling aside, I think he will).
Here’s my assignment:  choose an age-appropriate story (no more that 20 minutes long, as if I could actually read more than that) and come up with an activity to lead with the class following the book.  As a member of the “Panda Family,” I added an additional caveat:  the stories and activities will all be “green themed.”
Here’s where I need your help.
Picking the first story was easy.  The Lorax. It’s a family favourite.  But when I started to dig for others along the same theme, I got stuck.  A lot of really cool books I came across were better for older kids.  The ones geared for the younger set seemed too “lessony” – I do not want an entire class of 4 and 5 year olds groaning when I enter the room.  I want to be “the fun mom” – not the “finger wager.”
So it would be really awesome and super helpful if you could share with me some of your favourite nature and conservation themed stories for little ones.  Tales that will entertain and inspire (and make me look good in front of Loki’s friends).  Also, I need to admit to you that I am – as it turns out – not at all crafty.  I can do other cool stuff like bake muffins and do weird voices.  But I suck at coming up with anything that involves pipe cleaners, glitter, and popsicle sticks.  So I could also really use your help with activity recommendations – easy class room stuff that will get kids thinking about the environment.
Thanks, I really appreciate your ideas.  And, in case it is helpful to other moms and pops who are looking to start a green story circle at school or at home, each month I’ll tell you about my foray into the classroom.  How the kids responded to the stories, the activities.  What we talked about.  What we all learned.
I’m looking forward to my adventures in kindergarten.  Especially since, this time around, I get to leave before nap time (actually, on second thought, maybe I’ll stay…).