School Library Journal Starred Review (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Gr 3-6 Using the contents of an average kid's backpack as a starting point, the author explores the production, use, and eventual end of products involving water, paper, food, plastic, clothing, metals, and electronics. Thorough yet never dull or heavy handed, the text offers information about the life cycle of common and necessary materials and the many stages each goes through before it is consumed or discarded. There is emphasis on the need to reduce waste and many facts and statistics are offered to support the notion that the amount of garbage produced on Earth is no longer sustainable. Innovative ideas currently being offered to combat waste, such as edible or compostable spoons, using zoo poop for energy, and cell phones to prevent deforestation in rainforests are discussed. Information such as the time required to decompose running shoes (1,000 years) and T-shirts (six months) will give students a clearer idea of the necessity for repurposing goods or of doing away with the acquisition of unnecessary stuff. A final chapter discussing waste in space moves the problem from Earth into the stratosphere. Amusing and instructive illustrations, charts, and sidebars add interest as well as details pertaining to the waste cycle and will inspire readers to become more educated consumers involved in a zero-waste future. VERDICT Endlessly informative and eminently readable, this book is an invaluable resource for students interested in the creation of goods and the resulting waste cycle. Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly at Trinity-Pawling School, NY

ALA Booklist (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

The waste cycle might not seem like a high-interest subject, but when connected with the things kids carry in their backpacks, it becomes more intriguing. A reusable water bottle leads to explanations of the water cycle, fresh-water treatment, waste-water treatment, and novel inventions currently helping in places with water shortages. Similarly, a lunch box leads to topics such as the sources of various foods, their carbon and water footprints, and the environmental problems created by food waste. Other chapters discuss clothing, paper, plastic, metals, electronics, and (looking beyond the backpack metaphor) the particular challenges of the International Space Station. The final chapter considers the possibility of a "zero-waste future." Every page offers detailed information, brightened by Slavin's ink drawings with digitally added color washes. Energetic and cartoonlike, these pictures illustrate concepts and processes described in the text, while reflecting its upbeat tone. Offering good reasons for reducing, reusing, and recycling, this book sketches an overall picture of the waste cycle, fills it with densely packed facts, and connects it with readers' lives.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Using the contents of an average student backpack--e.g., gym clothes, lunch, homework, cellphone--this book examines each item's "ingredients," how they are manufactured, and how the items can be recycled. Thought-provoking charts, such as one evaluating the ecological footprint of e-readers versus paper books, as well as humorous cartoon art illustrate the approachable text. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Kirkus Reviews

This illustrated nonfiction book covers the environmental impacts and life cycles of different familiar materials such as paper, plastic, metals, as well as the less-familiar space waste.Backed by colorful drawings by Slavin, Fyvie explores eight different materials, describing how they are created, used, and disposed of and/or recycled and how to lessen the effects of waste on the Earth. She appeals to young readers, using approachable topics such as the use of plastics in the manufacture of action figures and dolls. The text is peppered with interesting anecdotes, including one about Paraguay's children's "Landfillharmonic" orchestra, which performs music on instruments made of found, recycled objects. The author explains commonplace things readers may not fully understand, such as the recycling number system on plastics, outlined in a handy chart. While amusing, the illustrations look like dated comics, and diagrams of processes are not always so easy to parse. Some include unhelpful exaggerated images, such as a drawing of a worker using a giant U-shaped magnet during the aluminum recycling process. In other instances, what should be an intuitive flowchart becomes a frustrating exercise in following the numbers. The book closes by looking to the future for ways to become a zero-waste world. Heeding its own lesson, the book is printed on 100 percent recycled paper.While the book includes some hard-to-follow diagrams, the content is both approachable and interesting, and it leaves readers with a sense of responsibility for the Earth's future. (glossary, index, further information) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

When it comes to waste, everyone has the chance to reduce their carbon footprint, suggests Fyvie in her children-s debut. In a chart- and infographic-filled presentation, chapters focus on waste in the consumption of water, food, clothing, paper, plastic, metals, and electronics. Fyvie describes how clothing is produced, the implications of -fast fashion- trends and -slow decomposition,- and how readers can avoid contributing to wasteful producing, buying, and selling practices. Charts labeled -Supply & Demand- break down the reasons that people desire particular products, how they acquire them, and waste solutions. In the case of electronics, Fyvie urges readers to resist upgrading prematurely and instead keep electronics for longer, recycle batteries, and donate old models to charity. Sprinkled throughout are facts that may lead readers to think twice about their habits: -Scientists estimate that juice boxes will take 350 years to fully break down.- Slavin illustrates in lively pen-and-ink art, featuring cartoonlike characters implementing workable solutions to combat waste, which Fyvie encourages readers to embrace themselves. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)