Stuff: Curious Everyday STUFF That Helps Our Planet

by Maddie Moate

This is the first children's book from CBBC presenter Maddie a collection of extra ordinary stories about STUFF. Do you ever wonder where your stuff comes from, and what happens to it when you're finished with it? Did you know that you can make paper out of elephant poo? And plastic packaging out of seaweed? And did you know that if you throw away an old T-shirt, it can take 200 years to break down? Written and researched by Maddie Moate, the star of CBBC's Do You Know? and illustrated by Paul Boston, this book is full of mind-bursting facts and extraordinary stories of the ingenious ways people around the world, and across history, have made, used and re-used the stuff around them.

Genres: Childrens

56 pages, Hardcover

Published October 21, 2021

Reviews

[k.tomzynska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zwracasz uwagę, skąd pochodzą Twoje rzeczy? Może patrzysz, z czego są produkowane? Interesuje Cię proces ich powstawania? 💬 Prawda jest taka, że na co dzień korzystamy z wielu przedmiotów, ale nie do końca wiemy, z czego zostały wykonane. Bo przyznaj szczerze, wiedziałeś/-aś, że papier można wykonać z odchodów słonia? O tym i wielu innych faktach możesz przeczytać w książce dla dzieci „Rzeczy. Interesujące rzeczy codziennego użytku, które pomagają naszej planecie” autorstwa Maddie Moate.

„Rzeczy. Interesujące rzeczy codziennego użytku, które pomagają naszej planecie” to książka, która zabiera czytelnika w ekscytującą podróż po najskrytszych zakamarkach Ziemi (a nawet kosmosu) i pozwala mu odkrywać nowe wynalazki oraz poznawać procesy produkcji niektórych rzeczy, które zna z codziennego użytku.

Cała książka napisana jest prostym językiem, idealnie dostosowanym do wieku docelowego odbiorcy. Każda strona opatrzona jest ciekawymi ilustracjami, masą informacji i ciekawostek z całego świata, od których nie można się oderwać. Jest to porządna porcja ekowiedzy, która inspiruje do wykonania projektów i zadań aktywizujących czytelników.

„Rzeczy. Interesujące rzeczy codziennego użytku, które pomagają naszej planecie” to teoretycznie książka dla dzieci od 6 roku życia. Jednak prawda jest taka, że dorosły także wyniesie z niej wiele wartości, a podczas wspólnego czytania nie będzie się nudzić. Serdecznie POLECAM!

[beckys_book_blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my daughter's Christmas presents but I thought it would be perfect for #teachkidstuesday

We love Maddie from the Do You Know? and Let's Go Live Series which we avidly watched during lockdown. I was excited to be able to send off for a signed copy of this for Christmas. I know she will love it!

This book is full of fascinating stories and facts about how people around the world have made and reused 'stuff' in a sustainable way to help the planet. There is a world map for the contents page so you can choose to dip in to all sorts of interesting topics from across the world.
Examples include How do you make packaging from seaweed? How do you make paper from elephant poo? Can you make bricks from rubbish? Do you know that trains can levitate?
It is brilliantly illustrated and the information is pitched perfectly for 7-9 year olds.

Towards the end there are lots of projects to try at home.
The book really encourages children to think about looking after the planet and be Eco warriors with all the Eco stories, information and ideas to make Eco friendly products. A brilliant book and a perfect gift for Christmas!

[LudmilaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Interesting book about alternative renewable sources of energy & recycling.

[Hwee Goh · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…everything we use and all the stuff we own has a story. A beginning, a middle and an end.”

And this book has so successfully told these stories, I guarantee that you too (adult or child), will be fascinated.

So I learnt that in Chiang Mai, elephant poo is collected, cleaned and cooked and made into paper. But why? Indian elephants could chow down 150kg of food a day, mostly fibre, but not really digest most of it — and rather than cut down new trees, elephant poo does the job too!

I was further surprised that there are many more stories about communities using hot springs (Iceland) to bake bread, fog catchers (Lima, Peru) to condense and collect water.

In Kenya, with elephants run out of space to roam and ruining farmland, scientists came up with the idea to line the farms with honey-producing beehives. Because, yup, elephants do not like bees!

What happens in space when things break? Or how will mankind sustain longer space travel if astronauts need their stuff along the way? Enter the 3D printer, but also the “Refabricator” — now being tested by the International Space Station, to recycle waste plastic back into new things 😯

I loved this book very much. I think 7-9ers will enjoy this, but so will 9-12s and even my teens would enjoy flipping through this.

I think there’s nothing like real-life stories for all of us to truly learn the concepts of renewable energy, circular economy and the impact of climate change.

Author Maddie Moate is a British presenter and podcaster best known for the CBeebies series, Maddie’s Do You Know ❤️

📚: @times.reads