Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Where does your stuff come from? That question is answered for five items in this chatty book.The creative duo behind Follow Your Money (2013) team up again to create a book that takes common items in the Western world—a T-shirt, an asthma inhaler, a cellphone, eyeglasses, and, cleverly, this book itself—and follows each from raw material to finished product. Beginning with the seed planted in China to grow the cotton for the cloth woven in Guatemala, through the cutter and seamstress in India as well as the printer in Mexico and finally to the store at the North American mall where the T-shirt is bought, Sylvester and Hlinka demonstrate how globally and humanly intertwined it is. Aspiring authors will be particularly fascinated at what it took to make the book they are reading. Each item's economic and physical journey is presented in a fact-based format with a lively design of dialogue bubbles, text, and illustrations (showing racially diverse kid consumers as well as workers from around the globe). Sidebars prod readers to think about the real cost of goods as they present facts about low wages and unsafe working conditions in developing nations, global environmental stresses, and other concerns, effectively challenging readers to consider what their money supports.A thought-provoking breakdown of the real cost of all our cheap stuff. (references, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)

ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Ever wonder how much it costs to make a cell phone? The authors of Follow Your Money (2013) trace the path of a T-shirt, asthma inhaler, book, cell phone, and a pair of glasses, from each product's raw materials through to the completed item, acknowledging all the steps in between. Readers may be surprised to learn the production costs for some products compared to what they sell for. One eye-opening illustration contrasts items produced in the U.S. 100 years ago with the locations they're manufactured in today. The book includes prompts that ask readers to consider particular socioeconomic issues in more depth (i.e., unskilled laborer exploitation, unfair wages, fracking), along with references, further reading options, and an index (not seen). The authors admirably explain how something a young person buys in the U.S. affects others, directly or indirectly, all over the world through personal, ethical, and economic perspectives. A thoughtful, educational book that may even change some readers' purchasing habits.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Where does your stuff come from? That question is answered for five items in this chatty book.The creative duo behind Follow Your Money (2013) team up again to create a book that takes common items in the Western world—a T-shirt, an asthma inhaler, a cellphone, eyeglasses, and, cleverly, this book itself—and follows each from raw material to finished product. Beginning with the seed planted in China to grow the cotton for the cloth woven in Guatemala, through the cutter and seamstress in India as well as the printer in Mexico and finally to the store at the North American mall where the T-shirt is bought, Sylvester and Hlinka demonstrate how globally and humanly intertwined it is. Aspiring authors will be particularly fascinated at what it took to make the book they are reading. Each item's economic and physical journey is presented in a fact-based format with a lively design of dialogue bubbles, text, and illustrations (showing racially diverse kid consumers as well as workers from around the globe). Sidebars prod readers to think about the real cost of goods as they present facts about low wages and unsafe working conditions in developing nations, global environmental stresses, and other concerns, effectively challenging readers to consider what their money supports.A thought-provoking breakdown of the real cost of all our cheap stuff. (references, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)

School Library Journal (Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Gr 5-8 This book charts the global production chain (resources and costs and labor) for four goods: T-shirts, prescription medications like inhalers, books, and cell phones. In the description of what it takes to make a T-shirt, there is a page detailing the raw materials and another about the logo. A third describes how a shop owner decides how much profit is needed. The narrative spells out the steps completely; however, the discussions following each section are detailed but not in-depth. The tradeoff is that some essential issues (such as precious metals in cell phones, with the associated geopolitics) are identified but not explained. The text is conversational and there are clip art-type illustrations to enhance the layout. The calculations are easy to follow and generally provide a good sense of how many things come together to make everyday items. This slim volume provides an ideal starting place for a project and would appeal to students highly motivated to understand the origins of common items and what it takes to produce them. A more general, multimedia treatment of this topic is Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff and its variants. VERDICT Recommended for middle school collections to support an Environmental Club or for research projects on the sourcing of everyday items. Amy Thurow, Northside Elementary School, Sun Prairie, WI