It has been a pleasure to read this book, a pioneer in an area that focuses on how early childhood education can contribute towards a more sustainable world. It contains a balanced mix of facts, illustrative examples and provocative questions, with the authors aiming actively to engage the reader to become involved in changing him/herself as much as changing his/her ideas. The different chapters focus both on early childhood educational settings as places for children's actions related to the environment and on related topics – such as health – that are concerned with early childhood and children's lives in a wider sense.

Although the focus here is mainly on questions related to the environment, the text gives a much broader view of what education for sustainability can be like. Convincingly, the authors show how urgent it is to transform our education systems in order to be cross-disciplinary, authentic and closely related to children's everyday experiences. The reasons for this are global, in terms of justice, equality and equity, but also environmental, in terms of global warming and climate change.

While the book illustrates the need for global and community political commitments to sustainable living, it emphasises the importance of beginning with the youngest children. We know from years of research that the early years provide a window of opportunity to lay the foundations for knowledge, skills and attitudes.