garbage

Review: Junkyard by Mike Austin

| Tasha

junkyard

Junkyard by Mike Austin

Two huge robots are in a junkyard where there is garbage that goes on for miles.  Then the robots start munching, eating cards, buses, planes and more.  They devour trains, chains, tires, and bicycles.  They drink paste, goo and toxic waste.  Then the story changes and the robots clean up the few things that are left behind, just one little stack.  And it’s time for something new.  The robots dig holes in the ground and plant trees and flowers.  They build a playground and dig out a lake.  They have gardens and dirt piles.  And now what once was a junkyard is a place just for you!

Done in a romping rhyme, this picture book has the appeal of huge robots and destruction.  I must admit that I was completely disarmed by the change of tone in the book when the robots changed from destruction to creation.  It was a striking choice to make in the book and one that will increase its appeal.

Austin’s art is vibrant and colorful.  He uses deep colors that are rich and pop against the white background.  The robots are friendly even as they devour planes and buses.  With the rhyme, the entire book has a playful feel that makes it work well.

A celebration of robots, destruction and making something of nothing, this is a bright and fun joy of a book.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Beach Lane Books.

Here Comes the Garbage Barge!

| Tasha

Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio

This is the true story of what happened in 1987 when the town of Islip had 3,168 tons of garbage that they had no room for.  So it was placed on a barge to be taken to North Carolina.  Captain Duffy St. Pierre used his small tugboat to pull the barge down to North Carolina, but it wasn’t that simple.  North Carolina refused to take the garbage!  Captain Duffy was then sent to New Orleans.  Nope, they didn’t want it either.  Mexico?  No.  Belize?  No.  Texas?  No.  Florida? No.  The garbage was getting older, smellier and more horrid by the day.  Finally Brooklyn agreed to take the garbage and incinerate it.  It was 162 days after the barge first set out. 

This book could have been a dry look at recycling, garbage and waste, but it definitely is not.  Instead Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a book filled with humor and character that tells the garbage story with more style than the facts could have offered.  Winter’s writing is ideal for reading aloud.  There are plenty of accents, lots of exclamations that fill the book with energy and fun.  Red Nose Studio’s art is three-dimensional, witty and filled with found objects.  His art is humorous, detailed and a delight to look at.  It is a testament to Winters’ writing that it is a great match to this art. 

A perfect book for Earth Day or any eco-friendly event, this book will get children thinking about how many pounds of garbage they create and exactly what happens to it.  Even if it’s not headed for a garbage barge.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Check out the video below of the making of the art for the book:

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.