Total Garbage: A Messy Dive into Trash, Waste, and Our World
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Rebecca Donnelly, illus. by John Hendrix. Holt, $21.99 (160p) ISBN 978-1-250-76038-8
In seven chapters, Donnelly talks trash, addressing questions including “Where does our garbage come from?”; “Why do we make so much garbage?”; and “What can we learn from our garbage?” The book—filled with statistics from before 2020—touches on the usual topics, but also on archeology, contemporary art, environmental racism, history, upcycling and downcycling, and corporate efforts to keep consumers buying and using plastic. “If you look hard enough, you’ll find money at the root of most of our waste problems,” reads one characteristically incisive takeaway. Occasional line drawings from Hendrix, cast in teal, break up the text and lighten the mood with gentle humor. Despite the seriousness of the world’s garbage predicament, the text’s message remains one of encouragement, offering creative examples of different communities’ solutions and urging readers not to give up hope. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)
Is It Okay to Pee in the Ocean? The Fascinating Science of Our Waste and Our World
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Ella Schwartz, illus. by Lily Williams. Bloomsbury, $21.99 (96p) ISBN 978-1-68119-513-1
Schwartz’s guiding titular question draws together human biology and water ecology for a playfully wide-ranging, informative, and conservation-leaning exploration. Chatty prose grounded in basic science examines urine from every angle, touching on how and why the body creates it and where one should and shouldn’t feel free to let loose. Dispersed throughout are deep dives into marine science, covering such topics as fin whale waste, algal blooms, and single-use plastics. Shaded boxes offer historical and mythological context, propose experiments (“Sea it for yourself”), or make a connection to environmental stewardship (“Be the change”), while Williams’s grayscale cartoons help visualize the text, including figures of varied skin tones. A simple message ties it all together: “Peeing in the ocean isn’t a problem. It’s all the other stuff humans do that is harming the seas, and, by extension, our planet.” Back matter includes an ocean protector pledge. Ages 8–12. (Feb.)
The Last Plastic Straw: A Plastic Problem and Finding Ways to Fix It
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Dee Romito, illus. by Ziyue Chen. Holiday House, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4949-1
A breezy overview of drinking straw history builds to a conservation-minded message about the need to reduce single-use plastics in this fascinating and accessible picture book, part of the new Books for a Better Earth series. Opening, Romito frames straws as tools responding to specific problems, beginning with reed drinking straws in ancient Sumer and tracing the development of paper and bendy iterations. The introduction of plastic varieties provides a segue to the way these objects—now ubiquitous “forever” trash—have generated a new problem. Romito offers a ready solution, pointing to the real-world activism of the child behind the “Be Straw Free” campaign while acknowledging situations in which plastic may be necessary. Chen’s digital renderings of people of varying skin tones using straws across time have an informative, static quality that emphasizes the historical dimensions of their subject; a single real-life photo of microplastic reinforces the need for action. An author’s note concludes. Ages 6–9. (Feb.)
Marina: A Story About Plastic and the Planet
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Jesse Byrd, illus. by Andressa Meissner. Paw Prints, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-223-18665-8
Byrd’s enthusiastic descriptions of a child eating lunch take a serious turn when the sandwich’s plastic wrapper drifts out to sea. Marina, who’s portrayed with tan skin in Meissner’s animation-style art, responsibly disposes of her trash, but when the wrapper flies free from a garbage truck and lands in the sea, it disturbs various ocean creatures enacting human-like activities. “It scared a turtle taking her/ nap, and once she was woke,/ she couldn’t go back,” and bothers others including a singing, bow-tie-clad clownfish and racing penguins. Throughout, the wrapper, which bears the label “Marina,” provides a searchable visual amid spongy underwater scenes. When Marina makes the unlikely discovery that the wrapper has washed ashore nearby, the teachable moment resounds with a declaration from Mom (“Plastic doesn’t ever really go away”) and family attempts at change. Back matter includes pollution statistics and light suggestions for ways kids can help. Ages 5–8. (Mar.)
Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day
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Shaunna and John Stith, illus. by Maribel Lechuga. Little Bee, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4998-1304-3
The Stiths and Lechuga offer up a fast-moving chronicle of the events and emotions leading up to the first Earth Day. Anchoring the account is fictional protagonist Sam, portrayed with pale skin, who’s inspired to take action when a 1969 oil spill contaminates local Santa Barbara beaches: “The sparkling waves that used to crash down,/ whoosh up, and tickle Sam’s toes were silent./ All she could hear was slop…/ slop…/ slop.” Artwork with airbrush textures aptly communicates Sam and others’ dismay when confronted with the oil-slicked beach and wildlife. As the racially diverse town begins a cleanup effort, the group successfully works to attract national attention, leading to the first Earth Day. Sam’s emerging eco-consciousness neatly provides evidence of the role that youth can play in helping to protect the planet. Back matter includes an authors’ note. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)
Zero Waste: How One Community Is Leading a World Recycling Revolution
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Allan Drummond. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-374-38840-9
Drummond expands his Green Power series with this inspiring account of the citizens of Kamikatsu, Japan, and their zero-waste goal. Two children’s visit to see their proverb-loving grandmother provides framing for the narrative. During the visit, the trio sort trash into varied bins—nine for different paper types, six for varied plastic materials, five for metal, six for glass—providing insight into Kamikatsu’s real-life pledge to reduce, reuse, or recycle all waste. Lengthy sidebars offer context and definitions, while narration and speech bubbles educate and persuade: “Recycling? I’m too old for that!” reads one bubble. “Chiritsumo! A journey begins with the first step,” Grandma replies in the main text. Loosely marked art has calligraphy-like movement and flair. Appropriately focused on community members, illustrations showcase the story’s emphasis on how working together can help solve even seemingly impossible environmental problems. An author’s note, references, and photos append. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)
Flipflopi: How a Boat Made from Flip-Flops Is Helping to Save the Ocean
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Linda Ravin Lodding and Dipesh Pabari, illus. by Michael Machira Mwangi. Beaming, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5064-8640-6
Flip-flops and other plastic debris form the sailboat that stars in this real-life story from Ravin Lodding and Pabari, about a Kenyan coastal community’s response to ocean trash. Upon discovering plastic sandals littering the beach, Juma and his boat-builder grandfather have the ingenious idea to melt them down into material for a functional watercraft. Before long, the whole community gets involved, and muted illustrations by Machira Mwangi depict Juma and many others picking up litter and contributing to growing mounds. When at last the boat is complete, the sheets of melted footwear give it a vibrant appearance—“pale pink like watermelon flesh,/ blue as blue as the Lamu sky, and/ green the color of mango skin.” Concluding pictures show the vessel, christened Flipflopi, taking a maiden voyage after a brilliant sunrise—an uplifting symbol of the awakening featured. Back matter offers more about Flipflopi and tips for avoiding single-use plastics. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)
The Day the River Caught Fire: How the Cuyahoga River Exploded and Ignited the Earth Day Movement
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Barry Wittenstein, illus. by Jessie Hartland. S&S/Wiseman, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-5344-8083-4
Wittenstein supplies an eco-history of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River and its role in launching the environmental movement, opening with the moment in 1969 when the heavily polluted river—upon which “a thick, gooey layer of sludge, oil, and sewage floated”—caught fire: “KABOOM!” Conversational storytelling and stylized gouache renderings emphasize the waterway’s condition as compared to preindustrial times, while repeated “HO-HUM”s capture the complacency contributing to the dire state of affairs. Cleveland’s mayor is depicted as pivotally taking a stand—drawing national attention to water pollution—and coverage of ensuing movement milestones builds to the story’s conservation-minded conclusion, which emphasizes the importance of empowering youth. Hartland’s thick-layered paintings visualize pollution’s gloom, and an author’s note further drives home the seriousness of today’s situation. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)
Can I Recycle This? A Kid’s Guide to Better Recycling and How to Reduce Single-Use Plastics
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Jennie Romer, illus. by Christie Young. Viking, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-20407-8
Romer gets into the nitty-gritty of recycling with this kid-friendly picture book adaptation. Matter-of-fact text explains why recycling matters, describes the fascinating machines and technology that make it happen, and details specifics around what can and can’t be recycled. Set against plain white backdrops, Young’s animated mixed-media doodles keep things bright, visualizing trash that frequently speaks up via speech bubbles. “Yay! Recycle us,” say paper materials; “We wish we could be recycled, but we can’t,” comment a baby food pouch and some plastic cutlery. Romer further highlights the need for eco-friendly laws and policies, placing the responsibility for action not just on individuals but on companies. “Find out more” callouts, highlighted glossary terms, and supporting back matter amplify the work’s educational value. The overall result is an engaging springboard for environmental stewardship. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)
The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island
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Marni Fogelson and Mahani Teave, illus. by Marta Álvarez Miguéns. Sourcebooks Explore, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-72826-231-4
Writing with Fogelson in third-person prose, Teave tells the story of her own path to musical success and her eventual conservation work at home on Rapa Nui, island site of the world-famous moai. For Teave, “music was the heart” of the island. But after learning on the island’s sole piano, and being told that “her talent could not fully bloom” there, she moves away to become a concert pianist. Visits home “made Mahani feel whole again,” and it’s on these trips she realizes that, between tourists and ocean litter, “trash/ was/ everywhere.” In response, Teave takes inspiration from her creative ancestors and joins a team working to create a music school using recycled building materials. In warm and cool tones, Álvarez Miguéns’s artwork emphasizes the light brought by music, and concluding images highlight the positive local impact of the sustainable school. Back matter includes an author’s note, facts, and glossary. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)
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