Disney Go Green: A Family Guide to a Sustainable Lifestyle is more eco friendly than you think.

At first thought, a book that has Mickey Mouse on the cover teaching families about going green may seem disingenuous. Mickey and his many properties encourage consumption. However, Mickey and his friends also have a massive audience with the ability to influence untold amounts of people. Both of those statements are true and Disney: Go Green! A Family Guide to a Sustainable Lifestyle is better and more thorough than eco-skeptics would suggest.

Disney Go Green is a basic look at how families can be more environmentally friendly and lead a more sustainable lifestyle.The book is broken up into two parts with the first half being focused on why it’s important to be active, ways to play with friends and other social factors. Essentially, be happy, do good things and be nice, but the information is put out there in a way that’s educational and not condescending to children 8 and up.

Most pages have small break out questions on the sides of the pages that highlight what the pages are talking about. I know a fair amount about the environment, seasonal crafts and sustainable living, but the book did have a couple bits of knowledge that were new to me.

The second half of the book that focuses on the eco information is good and appropriate for families with children. Ages 8 and up will be able to read the book and get ideas on their own. The execution of things, such as building a garden or doing some of the crafts will require mom or dad to assist.

For families that already lead an eco-friendly lifestyle parts of the book might be too basic. However, if the only education that you child gets about the environment is at school Disney Go Green will have lots of things for them to learn and do.

It’s important to point out that the book is not preachy. It is aimed at a younger audience, but it doesn’t use guilt as its motivating action. Disney Go Green states a couple of times in the book that it’s OK to do (i.e., consume) things, just do it in moderation and keep an eye out on the bigger picture.