These well-meaning picture books star Eco-Pig and people-ish creatures of the town of To-Be, with its bright, rolling computer-generated landscapes. The rhymed texts are forced and awkward ("'Earth's running a fever,' E.P. agreed. / 'We've cranked up the heat!/ It's called global warming, / not so cool and not neat'"). Suggestions for action at home are appended. Glos.

In the tidy little town of To-Be, all the residents work together to keep things clean and green, especially nature-loving Eco-Pig, who wakes one day to a rude shock: To-Be is strewn with garbage. Gathering a cleanup crew, E. P. and his friends follow the trash trail until they reach the culprit, a clueless litterbug named Pete J. Pollutes. After a few impassioned speeches, E. P. convinces Pete to mend his ways and protect the earth's beauty. The text's rhyming couplets sometimes feel forced, the meter doesn't always scan, and the ecomessages are overt. But the picture-book format, with bright acrylic illustrations of To-Be's locals (including many of ambiguous species), makes this a suitable choice for both new readers and young listeners, and teachers seeking supplementary material for Earth Day units may want to incorporate this title, one of the first in a new series. A glossary and appended section of facts and ecotips add to the book's curriculum appeal.