Children's Books discussion
The Picture-Book Club
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March 2020: The "5 Rs" -- Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle
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The Green Mother Goose: Saving the World One Rhyme at a Time
Miss Fox's Class Goes Green
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
10 Things I Can Do to Help My World
Gabby and Grandma Go Green
We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
Rainbow Weaver: Tejedora del Arcoiris
Bag in the Wind
My Forever Dress
Don't Throw That Away!: A Lift-the-Flap Book about Recycling and Reusing
Hey, That's Not Trash!: But Which Bin Does It Go In?
Something from Nothing
What Does It Mean To Be Green?
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
The Old Red Rocking Chair -- because Cheryl recommended this already ;-)
I'll keep searching...
Excellent! The library nearest me has a whole section devoted to this topic. I'll see what looks good next time I'm there.So far I found
Here Comes the Garbage Barge!
The Tin Forest
Chattanooga Sludge
and One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
nominated above
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Great! :-)
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But again, I'll be delighted to read anything that I can find, either as a selection or for this master list. My library has 6 pp of results, but I can't tell if any are picture-books w/out tiring research.
(The only one listed for this 'target audience' is Just Grace Goes Green but that's for grades 3-4, not age 3-4... we don't have the best cataloging standards.... )
Cheryl I'm assuming the library you're searching doesn't have a Google style catalog in which you can merely type in "recycling picture book" and a list with images comes up. That way gives me more options.environmental protection brings up lots of options too but I don't know how to tell you how to find just picture books aside from the call number JE which indicates picture book or looking at the number of pages in the book.
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Follow That Bottle!: A Plastic Recycling Journey
Trash Magic: A Book about Recycling a Plastic Bottle
Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art
What Does It Mean to Be Green?: Eco-Pig Explains Living Green
Nature's Little Helpers
S Is for Save the Planet: A How-To-Be Green Alphabet
Tin Lizzie
Perhaps a bit beyond our scope for this month but I'm leaving them here because I think there may be some Rs involved:
Green City: How One Community Survived a Tornado and Rebuilt for a Sustainable Future * note this shows 40 pages but online age range shows 5-8. This is the one at my library but there are also:
Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their World
Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World
Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World's Biggest Solar Plant
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I did visit my son's OKC library in person yesterday and found a few appealing ones that I will of course read & review for the sake of the master list.
We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
Fun Things to Do with Paper Cups and Plates
Earth Day ...and the Recycling Fashionista
Recycling Day
... maybe 'earth day' would be another good search term...
I forgot to look! It was a busy library day in the community. I'll try again when it's quieter and I don't have to rush to catch a bus that won't come again for 50 minutes. Then I'll report back with the titles and subject headings.
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Join the No-Plastic Challenge!: A First Book of Reducing Waste
Also heard about this one:
A Planet Full of Plastic: and how you can help
My nominees areOne Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay
There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
Rainbow Weaver: Tejedora del Arcoiris
Maya's Blanket/La Manta de Maya
Francisco's Kites / Las Cometas de Francisco
Emeraldalicious
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But anyway that's just my vote as a member, not trying to throw my moderator authority around or anything.
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Yes, that is my goal for this month. If there is enough interest I am happy to do an expanded theme later in the year about overarching environmental concerns, environmental stewardship, that sort of thing. (Though, yes, we did do a theme in prior years. But, if there is current interest I am happy to do it again, it's always a relevant topic with new books coming out every year.)
But for this month the focus is more specific to the 5 Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle
Here's further information on that:
https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog...
So, please consider that when you are voting for the 7 books you'd most like to read with the group. The voting period is open now until February 20th. Thank you! :-)
(I do realize that there may be a little overlap with some books going a bit beyond the 5 Rs -- so many books are more general about "going green" etc. and will include some of the Rs in that but perhaps expand beyond that. Also that there is a some subjectivity in interpreting the 5 Rs. For example, someone might consider "Refuse" as choosing reusable or paper bags over plastic bags -- or someone else might consider "Refusing" gas-powered vehicles and choosing electric vehicles or using a bicycle.)
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Cheryl, I meant to reply to this before! Yes, I think Repair is very important.
I have also heard "Rot" as an "R" -- referring to composting.
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I found some other suggestions using the Google style catalog. My local libraries don't have these so I'm not officially nominating them but if anyone else is looking for suggestions, here they are.Stuff!: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, reuse, and recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Garbage Galore
The Three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle
I Can Save the Earth!: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
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Great! :-)
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Thanks! I appreciate the suggestions, because my catalog is so inadequate.
Rainbow weaver by Linda Elovitz Marshall is an excellent choice for this thread or theme. A Mayan girl reuses the plastic bags that are littered around by tourists in her village to create traditional weaving patterns as marketable goods.
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Cheryl wrote: "Rainbow Weaver: Tejedora del Arcoiris does sound like a wonderful book.I agree. I voted for that one too and it's bilingual. I like practicing my limited Spanish. Plus I need a good, inspiring name for the Mayan corn husk doll my friend sent as a souvenir from Guatemala.
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This is along similar lines to One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia which I also nominated. I grabbed One Plastic Bag at the library last week. I'll be reading it for next month and will comment on the master discussion thread even if it's not chosen as one of our seven. I'll try to get the Rainbow Weaver, too. It would be interesting to compare/contrast though maybe choosing both for our official picks might be a bit too much overlap? We will see how the votes tally -- not many are in yet!
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Refuse: Join the No-Plastic Challenge!: A First Book of Reducing Waste
Reduce: Miss Fox's Class Goes Green
Reuse: The Old Truck
Repurpose:
Rainbow Weaver: Tejedora del Arcoiris
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay
Recycle: We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
(I plan to read many more)
I'm pondering the idea keeping this one thread so we can weave in more books since so few of you actually voted and maybe will be pulling in more from what would be the "master list"? Though, if you think it's easier to keep separate, I will separate the threads like usual? Let me know what you think.
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On this topic, I just received the book, The Mess That We Made"The Mess That We Made" via the Goodreads sweepstakes. I highly recommend it. Yes, it's a picture book persay, but illustriously illustrated by Julia Blattman. I'm blown away by the illustrations and rhyme building that accompanies a very sobering topic, of why we humans pollute not merely our own ecosystem, but that of which we share with other species. If you read it to your little one or your first grader attempts to read on their own with you, be prepared to answer a lot of questions! Like, why are people doing this? What can be done? What are YOU doing about it? And, little ones asking "How can I help?".
Gammy
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Sure. I've been thinking of just keeping one thread for the themed reads going forward so will give it a try this month :-)
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Thank you, Thomas/Gammy. Sounds like an excellent and powerful book on an important subject. I'll see if my library has this one.
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I think many children (and some adults) will be amazed at the illustration that shows a typical American kitchen and all the plastic items there -- something beyond the soap bottle or a plastic toy and showing how even something like fleece jacket is actually made of plastic. I also think it's great that it explains how plastic breaks down (but never actually goes away) particularly in the ocean where then smaller fish eat it, then larger fish, and so on up the food chain even to humans.
While the author does a great job of showing how harmful plastic can be to the environment and animals, I think he missed an important opportunity to discuss how harmful plastics can be to humans -- drinking from plastic water bottles, eating from plastic containers, etc. all of which leeches into the water/food we consume. (I could go on and on here, there is evidence of the dangers of plastic in children's toys, etc.)
I also think the scene at the "specialty store that sells environmentally friendly products" is a bit out of touch with the general population. It's great these products exist, but how many of us can afford these items? Even if, ultimately, it will be less costly to have reusable items, how are you going to tell the family living paycheck to paycheck to invest $50 in bamboo picnic dishes and cutlery? I did appreciate the scene where one of the girls brings her own dishes and cutlery from home to the picnic -- but I felt we needed a few more of these ideas. (For example, if you can't afford a fabric shopping bag, you could bring the paper or plastic bag the store gives out the next time you shop and use it again.)
Despite a few missed opportunities, I still feel this is a valuable book and should be shared with young people.
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The humor actually highlights a very important point -- we don't have to go to drastic measures to make a difference. When Frog says, "I know how I can use less water. I can stop taking showers!" Miss Fox says he doesn't have to stop taking showers, he can take shorter ones. When Squirrel calls out, "I know how to save paper. No more homework!" Miss Fox smiles, "That's not going to happen. But you can use both sides of the paper."
I also really appreciate that the book shows the importance of simply not buying things. Squirrel saw some super awesome new sneakers at the mall that he really wanted, but he remembered he's "green" now and decided his current sneakers still have lots of fun-and-run left in them. The children also hold a toy swap at their school so everyone gets a new-to-them toy without having to buy anything.
I do have one little quibble. Miss Fox writes her tips on the chalkboard:
1. Use less stuff --
recycle.
2. Use less energy
3. Use less water
I actually think that should be four points. I think that using less stuff is actually a different matter from recycling the stuff you already have. But, still, good points to make!
Kudos also goes to the "Tips for Going Green" on the flyleaf. Along with the typical "carry your lunch in a rusable sack" or "don't let the water run while you brush your teeth" it mentions "eat less meat." That is actually huge and most of the time it's never mentioned yet what we eat directly affects the environment and eating less meat is one of the best ways to help the environment.
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http://www.natgen.org/green-earth-boo...
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I also reuse the Produce bags from apples, peppers, etc. that I buy loose (not pre-bagged). I sewed some cloth bags from a nearly worn-out (so thin and light) bed sheet and my adult son is using them. You'd think cashiers would be be befuddled, but they're not. (When the produce bags wear out, I will too... but they last a surprisingly long time.) Of course we don't bother bagging bananas, or cucumbers, etc.
I will certainly look for all the books that you recommend!
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I gave Recycling Day three stars. My review:
Pretty basic, but there is enough material here to use this as a source for a research paper, and enough ideas to help youngsters new to being Green. I'm glad that they reminded people to use cloth napkins instead of disposable ones, but let me explain how best to do that:
Save flannel or woven shirts that are holey & worn out. Use pinking shears to cut the softest ones into approximately 6X6 squares for handkerchiefs. Accumulate enough so that you can have a fresh sanitary one every time you blow your nose. Cut the others into slightly larger pieces to use as napkins. The jagged edge created by the pinking shears will not ravel in the wash so these can be reused many many times. I imagine t-shirts can be cut up with ordinary scissors as the knit will not ravel anyway. In either case, no sewing or purchase necessary. (Except maybe you don't have a pair of pinking shears yet. It's a worthy investment.)
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Happened to be on the shelf at the library when I was looking for Recycle-Repurpose books. Pretty cute... I have no idea why there are no readers, why there is no blurb. It's part of a series of Abby's Adventures.
I like the ideas Abby and her classmates come up with to try to take better care of our biosphere. They're not perfect, as some involve buying new stuff. And of course everyone should obey almost all of them all the time. But there are lots, and youngsters new to being Green will surely find things they can do.
I do object to the fact that Abby is a blue-eyed blond, and it's the side-kicks who are diverse. Oh well, that's better than an all-white classroom.
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Not very Green unless your family is in the habit of throwing out extra supplies from parties. But if you are, or you're willing to spend a little money you can have some fun with some pretty easy crafts. Some of the projects are worthless, but I do like the idea of turning a plate into a box-shaped bowl or two plates into a box with a lid. And the cups that can be used to hold small gifts are clever. There is a list for further reading.
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Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs
(last edited Mar 01, 2020 08:20AM)
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http://www.natgen.org/green-earth-boo..."
I will print out that list so I can take it to the libraries... Of course I should do it digitally, but I don't have a smart phone so it wouldn't be easy enough for me. But e-waste is a big problem, so that's one more reason for me not to upgrade my old flip phone!
(And by e-waste I include the huge & often hidden costs in mining and manufacturing, too.)
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Yes, I think it would be great if we share tips! Thank you! :-) That is a good one to add about asking for paper bags instead of plastic if you don't have a reusable bag. When we lived in California, most stores were switching over to paper bags. However, here in Idaho, plastic bags are standard. I always ask for paper bags or bring our own. When we do get paper bags, we reuse those or use them as trash bags -- the wrapping is a great idea, too! I also don't put much produce into the plastic bags at the produce section -- and leave a lot loose, too. I love your idea of upcycling old sheets. I really want to work on my sewing skills so I can do more upcycling like that!
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Save flannel or woven shirts that are holey & worn out. Use pinking shears to cut the softest ones into approximately 6X6 squares for handkerchiefs.."
That's such a great idea! I am loving these upcycling ideas because it's so much better to use something already on hand so that 1) it's not going to a landfill and 2) it's saving resources by not purchasing something newly made. It's also economical! :-)
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Yes, absolutely! I had my old flip phone for years before it finally gave out. People found me amusing but oh well ;-) I do have an (purchased used) iphone now but I don't feel the need to go out and get the latest and greatest model. Sometimes I wonder what folks of fifty or a hundred years ago would think of us. Even what we would think of ourselves from the vantage point of twenty years ago! I remember when we sent our first email -- waiting for the dial up and all that. Still, it was amazing! Now folks are fussy about something taking an extra two seconds to load.
Thanks for sharing your tips and the books you've been reading. I hope to read a bunch beyond the seven club reads and will post back when I do.
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Thoroughly enjoyable! I loved the mama's creativity -- it was so much fun seeing what she would come up with next! -- and I loved that the little girl finds the perfect solution at the very end with her own style of creativity. The illustrations are charming and expressive and the poetic language is great for read-aloud. A wonderful book about sewing, repurposing, and using creativity to bring a smile when a situation has you frowning! ;-)
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Once you know how to do that, you can use washed bed pillows that have lost too much stuffing to sleep on, squeezed down to about 1/3 size, combined with either old t-shirts or scrap fabric from the thrift store, to make new custom throw pillows.
Good family projects... remember of course that boys & girls both need to know how to sew on buttons, repair ripped seams, cook from pantry staples, clean with fewer chemicals, etc.
The thing about being green is that it's usually Cheaper, too! If we want to find even more books from the library, we can look for 'Thrifty' crafts, recipes, home-making skills, We can learn what pioneers and those who lived through the Great Depression did.
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As you can see below, I was able to find one useful & do-able project even in a book I don't quite recommend. You might want to start online, perhaps youtube, if you're very much a beginner. Or maybe you're teaching patience, too, and are willing to do shapes several times before achieving success, in which case just about any 'origami for beginners' book should be fine.
My review for Easy Origami:
Not as beginner as I needed, or, at least not enough 'very easy' projects. But then, I admit, I don't have the patience to try more than twice for a 'very easy!' Also there's at least one reference note that wasn't proofread (see page 6 should have said see page 5).
Many of these use scissors, and/or rectangular paper, and would not be called origami in my mind. A string of paper dolls does involve folding paper, but it really doesn't belong in this book imo!
I am saving the instructions for the clever envelope that actually has a total of five compartments.
Btw, I'm testing by using Pages from Magazines... good crisp paper, and generally the front of the sheet is different from the back which beginners like me need even for easy models. I bet old Nat'l Geographic, with those brilliant full-page photos, could be used for 'keeper' projects, not just tests.
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Great idea!
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Absolutely! :-) My boys are both learning to sew. I am not particularly talented, but I do have a sewing box, have mended their clothes, and we have made little projects like pillows in the past.
You are so right about most of these ideas being more economical, too. I think perhaps the two areas that are not are with regard to green cleaning and personal care products and organic foods. Unfortunately, these are usually still more expensive to purchase than non-green counterparts. I can see where many families may struggle to eat 100% organic, for example. That said, there are always steps that can help. Perhaps going organic only on some foods sometimes (like the Dirty Dozen) or adopting a few meatless meals per week (beans, for example, are very economical compared to meat). I think it's great when books show that it doesn't have to be all or nothing.
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White vinegar and baking soda are cheap, safe, and good cleaners for most things.
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Thank you for posting that. My husband and youngest son are allergic to vinegar so it's not something that came readily to my mind but you are absolutely right that for people who aren't allergic it is a great cleaning solution for many things. Recipes for natural cleaners abound online.
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And of course you're right, there's a multitude of online sources for all of this. I'll try to restrain myself and only post what I've not seen elsewhere. ;)
I do encourage all people who are finding value in the chosen picture-books to do further research, though, as there are many more opportunities to do good than can be listed in any short children's book.
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic (other topics)Rainbow Weaver / Tejedora del Arcoiris (other topics)
Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora del Arcoiris (other topics)
Milk and Juice: A Recycling Romance (other topics)
Milk and Juice: A Recycling Romance (other topics)
More...
Refuse: Join the No-Plastic Challenge!: A First Book of Reducing Waste
Reduce: Miss Fox's Class Goes Green
Reuse: The Old Truck
Repurpose:
Rainbow Weaver: Tejedora del Arcoiris
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay
Recycle: We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
Explanation of the 5 Rs:
https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog...
*I have also heard "Repair" and "Rot" (for composting)