Reduce Waste

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

Green—magic color symbol for a purer planet—pervades both design and content of the "Being Green" series intended to entice middle readers into thinking green. After a brief introduction, this slim volume presents, in ten two-page spreads, well-selected color photographs and a collage of paragraphs focused on making decisions to reduce waste now and in the future. Most kids have already heard of the three Rs—"Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Reducing involves planning ahead, not buying more than you need, and choosing biodegradable products. Reusing means repairing, donating, and finding new uses for old products. Recycling allows worn-out objects to be broken down and made into new products. Thirty percent of all food becomes waste; readers are challenged to plan ahead, cook more, and use all leftovers. Another worrying problem is plastic waste, now polluting a huge area of the Pacific—families can help by rejecting disposable plastic products. Urgent as the problem is, it's hard for middle readers to get excited about waste. Winnick's best ideas involve kids directly—making compost in gardens or containers and sharing it with neighbors or starting a community project like organizing a bottle drive, a garage sale, or an exchange site for free items. Additional pages include a large photo of a home with green ideas located, a spotlight on careers as a green artist or green contractor, and a quiz on the text. Billed as "media enhanced," each volume has a code for the Internet, where kids can find related video clips, web links, and activities. Text is easy to read, but contains unfamiliar words and concepts; the best enhancer is a creative teacher who can help students explore answers to the many questions raised in this series. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft