Recycling Day

September 15, 2014
Three insects and a worm learn about recycling when their vacant lot gets cleaned up. The lot's a dumping ground for all sorts of trash-so much so that it attracts a scurvy-looking gang of rats (one even sporting an eye patch). Luckily, people from the community arrive with trash bags, gloves and recycling bins, and the lot's denizens are educated about their former homes: The ants' glass-bottle home can be turned into a new bottle, saving enough energy to run a computer for an hour and a half. The grasshopper's cardboard box can be shredded and made into pulp, saving some of the nearly 4 billion trees that are felled each year for paper. The fly's aluminum can is similarly recycled, and the worm finds a new home in the compost. At day's end, the clean lot is planted, and the rats are headed for the dump. The center spreads each focus on a different kind of recycling, teaching readers where the resources for each item came from and how they're recycled. Text boxes with lots of fascinating facts and concrete statistics are sure to make readers think twice about trashing recyclables. The backmatter lists other recyclables, teaches about dumps and discourages littering. Miller's digital illustrations are fun to peruse-his rats are delightfully evil-and give readers lots of examples of recyclables in each category. Sure to inspire a new generation of recyclers. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

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September 1, 2014

K-Gr 3-A fly, a worm, a grasshopper, and a family of ants live happily in a sunny vacant lot until the volume of trash reaches critical mass and a gang of rats takes over. Eventually, volunteers organize a recycling day to transform the rubbish-choked lot into a community garden. As neighbors sort plastic, glass, paper, and metal, readers learn how each material can be recycled. Text boxes include diagrams that explain the processes. Other boxes offer facts about waste and suggestions to reduce consumption. Smaller signs contain safety warnings such as the need to wear protective gloves. At the end of the day, the rats head to the dump with the trash that cannot be recycled. Miller's cheerful cartoon illustrations reinforce the text's positive and encouraging tone. Additional suggestions for recycling and reducing waste are appended. Although this tale might set up unrealistic expectations for quick success, it could motivate children to start conservation efforts themselves. Younger listeners can concentrate on the basic story, while older readers may glean additional information from the "going green" text boxes.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato

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