Bag in the Wind

by Ted Kooser, Barry Root (Illustrator)

In a singular first children’s book, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser follows a plastic bag on its capricious journey from a landfill into a series of townspeople’s lives.

One cold morning in early spring, a bulldozer pushes a pile of garbage around a landfill and uncovers an empty plastic bag — a perfectly good bag, the color of the skin of a yellow onion, with two holes for handles — that someone has thrown away. Just then, a puff of wind lifts the rolling, flapping bag over a chain-link fence and into the lives of several townsfolk — a can-collecting girl, a homeless man, a store owner — not that all of them notice. Renowned poet Ted Kooser fashions an understated yet compassionate world full of happenstance and connection, neglect and care, all perfectly expressed in Barry Root’s tender illustrations. True to the book’s earth-friendly spirit, it is printed on paper containing 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste and includes an author’s note on recycling plastic bags.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Environment, Fiction, Poetry, Social Issues, Realistic Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2010

About the author

Ted Kooser lives in rural Nebraska with his wife, Kathleen, and three dogs. He is one of America's most noted poets, having served two terms as U. S. Poet Laureate and, during the second term, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection, Delights & Shadows. He is a retired life insurance executive who now teaches part-time at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The school board in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently opened Ted Kooser Elementary School, which Ted says is his greatest honor, among many awards and distinctions. He has published twelve collections of poetry and three nonfiction books. Two of the latter are books on writing, The Poetry Home Repair Manual and Writing Brave and Free, and a memoir, Lights on a Ground of Darkness (all from University of Nebraska Press. Bag in the Wind from Candlewick is his first children's book, with which he is delighted. "It's wonderful," Ted said, "to be writing for young people. I am reinventing myself at age 70."

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture book about the importance of recycling by the former poet laureate, Ted Kooser, whose poetry I have been reading lately. This is his first picture book, 2010, with lovely sketchy watercolored illustrations by Barry Root. The story is lovely, too, the tale of one plastic bag among the trillions choking the planet: "It was a bag for carrying groceries, just the color of the skin of a yellow onion. . ." that moves from person to person around Nebraska, being used rather than thrown away. My preference--especially given that the author is a poet--is for fewer words, to allow the images to carry the story, but I still liked it, as did my kids.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A must for all fans of the movie, "American Beauty. " :)

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not surprising that Ted Kooser's first book for children is beautifully written. What is surprising is how compelling he has made the story of a plastic bag that blows out of a landfill and on a long and varied journey. This is a message book, encouraging readers to reuse their plastic bags, and the child that will sit still for the fairly long story may have it stick with them for a long time and actually influence their life. It's really that good. Barry Root's soft watercolors are gorgeous here too.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about a bag being used over and over again as it travels in the wind. It gives several ideas to help out and websites.

[Angie]

We have looked at several books as we learn about recycling and how to preserve our environment. Today’s book takes a different approach to recycling. Bag in the Wind? What do you think this book might be about? I’m excited to share one of my favorite local authors with you today. Does the name Ted Kooser sound familiar? (if in Lincoln Public Schools it might) I took a writing class in college from a man named William Kloefkorn. The author of Bag in the Wind, Ted Kooser, was Mr. Kloefkorn’s best friend and came to speak at a couple of my class sessions. They now both have elementary schools named after them! Let’s start reading and see where the story takes us.

*Opening moves
-Remind children of genre comparisons
-Prompt predictions based on the title
-Raise questions in the readers minds
-Share a personal connection you have with the text
-Provide important background information

Rationale:
I chose Bag in the Wind for many reasons. First, I love the book. It has such a different take on recycle, so simple. I also loved the idea of bringing in the works of a local author. I felt this was a great book to end the unit with. It is a captivating, fiction book, but can relate to our Earth day/recycling/environment preservation unit. I would also consider using it as a segue into a local author study, or a unit on poetry as Ted Kooser has some great poetry also.

[Amanda L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poet Laureate goes kiddie, but the environmental themes will resonate with any conscientious adult. And it all centers on a serendipitous inanimate object.

Imagery abounds, with clever symbolism:
"It was a bag for carrying groceries, just the color of the skin of a yellow onion..."

"clouds like enormous black leaf bags"

Great early lessons in reusing, recycling, and figurative language. Relatively advanced vocabulary for a bedtime story as well.

[Relyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do love the art in this story. But, there's not really much story in the story. A little bit boring and a whole lot pedantic.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not every day do I read a picture book by an American Poet Laureate: What a fine way to meet you, Ted Kooser!

Oh-my-happy-ears, right from the first sentence I know to shelve this book under "Writing." Meaning, superb writing.

Effortless sentences each one seems to be, they slide down as easily as my favorite flavor of ice cream. Yet there's so much elegance and style to this writing.

Reading this book is a twofold adventure for me.

* Partly I'm following the fascinating saga of the main character, an empty plastic bag.
* Partly, as a memoirist and occasional poet, I'm taking a master class in writing; and don't I ever know it!

Magnificent ending; this is on top of all the rest of this magnificent tale. Unquestionably this is the best picture book I've seen yet about recycling and the environment; and also this story is so much more. Remarkably, for instance, this book has been written by a man who appreciates people, and views poor people as simply people-no-more-no-less.

Illustrations by Barry Root have a lot in common with the words of this book: Just enough detail, an unforced simplicity, realism, and a huge lot of soul.

Besides rating this book with FIVE STARS, I'm also shelving it under Highest Praise: this the best picture book I've seen yet about recycling and the environment; and also so much more.

[John Albrecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

A single-use plastic bag's story starts unremarkably as someone's trash at a landfill that's disturbed by a bulldozer, and freed by the wind. After getting stuck on a fence and in a tree, its picked up by a girl who used it to collect and then cash-in aluminum cans, plus the road is cleaner. There's a compost side-story with leaves in big plastic bags not being landfilled. The plastic bag ends up at a thrift store & being reused for the purchase of the little girl. The book promotes cleaning up plastic litter, and reuse in lieu of new or trash. The story refrains from moralizing, leaving the import of recycling to the author's notes. It also promotes kindness to the homeless, reality of garbage barges spilling trash into waterways, the economic benefits of personal recycling, and how some stores appreciate plastic bag donations. They can also be recycled at some stores. It was PRINTED on 100% POST-CONSUMER RECYCLED CONTENT. I loved this book and recommend it to all.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interestingly, I'm pretty sure I've actually read this book before. Probably...8-10 years ago. While I didn't recognize it when I grabbed it for our unit on wind, it looked very familiar as I started reading. It's a nice little story about the journey of a plastic bag and how it is used again and again. It might be something of a relic now, since we've banned single use bags here in California. *sigh* I actually miss having those plastic bags. I used them myself over and over and wish they hadn't been banned. Oh, well. The price of "progress," I suppose. But putting my personal issues aside, this was an okay book. I didn't care for the illustrations, but the story was basically okay. Nothing to write home about, though.

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a children's book that is set at a trash dump, roadside gas station, bridge underpass, homeless outreach service point, and thrift store! With a plastic bag as its main character!? It's a nice change to see a book that reflects the reality of our polluted world. Children see litter in our parks and roadsides every day, but you would never know it from the sunny, pristine world that is presented in most picture books. The author and illustrator convey ugly truths right alongside beautiful natural imagery making this book feel so real, but welcoming and warm at the same time. The book presents a simple message through gentle optimism without placing the onus on the reader to single-handedly reverse climate change, as if it's easy or even possible. Beautiful.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ordinarily, I read a few picture books to my preschooler at night while my husband reads a chapter book with our second grader. On a whim we switched last night and I read this book to my second grader. Thank goodness I didn't attempt it with the four-year-old. The pictures are beautiful but the story is far too long for a picture book. About halfway through I couldn't wait for it to end. And really, for a book about recycling, in my opinion it hardly showed the damage that a floating plastic bag can do to our environment. The best part of the book was the information on the back page about the damage bags cause and how many we use each year, etc.

[Ellie Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact the the story is a little long, I think that it holds an excellent message for children and adults alike. The author has the reader follow the journey of a lone, yellow plastic bag that escaped from a landfill. By the end end of the book, the reader is made aware of the importance of recycling. A difference can be made to help preserve and protect the planet, even by the small act of recycling plastic bags.

[Sara L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

K-5
This book illustrates how a grocery bag ends up in a landfill, how the wind blows it, and how it ends as a reusable bag. I believe that children should learn about how plastic pollution is harming our environment and the organisms that live in it. This book can be very useful to talk about how plastic objects such as plastic bags can be reusable or they can be bunned to reduce plastic pollution.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this five stars because I recommend it to everybody. I found it moving, accurate, interesting, and beautiful.

A picture-book for ages 5 to 105. What happens to a plastic grocery bag when it escapes a landfill? Whose lives are revealed by its encounters with them? Includes author's note about trash & litter, its impact on wildlife, plastic, the worthiness of reusing, and inadequacy of recycling.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous in its writing and illustration. Bits of it seemed tenuously accurate (are there really store owners who buy waterlogged secondhand plastic bags to use for customers?) but I enjoyed how it explored how wayward garbage often ends up affecting those who are less fortunate more acutely.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the language of this book, but there wasn't much of a story. It felt like being preached to about the horrors of mankind and their wastefulness. This may be true, but I don't need to read a picture book about it to my preschooler.

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A saga of what happens to a plastic bag as it blows from place to place, purpose to purpose, but still, it blows. Useful closing talks about the environment and how plastic bags, etc, are detrimental to our world.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creative way to start sharing concepts like Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and a broader view of environmental stewardship based on the simple, yet surprisingly wide-ranging journey of a plastic bag, all in a children's book without being too preachy.

[Trisha Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a bit more lyrical prose given the author, but the narrative of where a plastic bag gets taken by the wind was fun to follow.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story, but very text heavy

[Eduardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of words for a simple message.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of a plastic bag blown in the wind....

Author's note includes a discussion about recycling plastic bags.

Borrowed because I'm exploring the work of Barry Root.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book. I love the full circle ⭕️ story of a bag.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this one that has a great message but starts a little too slowly

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the story, but I think the story could have come full circle quicker.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this Katy Perry biography was great!

[Bruce Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated meaningful story.

[Sari Fordham · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I both loved this when she was little. It's been years and I'm still thinking about it. Beautiful book by one of America's best poets.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great way to teach children about recycling! A good book.