Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children's Book Authors Tell You How to Go Green

By Dan Gutman

Book Overview

With essays from renowned children's book authors such as Ann Brashares, Jeanne DuPrau, Caroline B. Cooney, Laurie Halse Anderson, Bruce Coville, Gennifer Choldenko, and over 100 others, each piece is an informative and inspiring call to kids of all ages to understand what's happening to the environment, and to take action in saving our world. Helpful tips and facts are interspersed throughout. This book will be a great classroom tool to teach young readers how they can help to make the Earth a greener place.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385737211
• ISBN13: 9780385737210
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Excellent book for older kids and teens

This book is a lot of fun and is a great way to introduce older kids and teens/young adults to some of the concepts of little changes making a big difference in the world. It also has some excellent tips for adults. I'm a mom to a 4 year old an didn't realize it was written more for older kids, so I read it myself and while I know much of what's in the book already, it was still a fun read and gave me some new insights. And I plan to give it as a gift to younger family members who might really get something out of it. I'm not sure what the right age is to start this book, perhaps 8 or 10 and up.

Great Teaching Tool

Recycle This Book By Dan Gutman From the cover which looks like a recycled product, to the short simple ideas it contains, this is a very cleaver idea for a children's environmental book. I enjoyed reading this compilation of stories by my favorite children's authors, sharing their wisdom about how to care for the earth. Tony Abbott recommends to the reader, "Think of everything you use as if we were running out of it." Author William Sleator lives in a Thai village surrounded by fruit trees, where his family gardens, raise chickens for meat and eggs, an have a large tank to farm raise fish. Rosemary Wells, author of more than 100 books, writes about her "Greenkid". Her daughter was born green, and grew up to teach others to grow organic garden. Her greenkid even drives a car with used cooking oil. In the article, "Alternative Power Rocks", author Shannon Hale, of Goose Girl fame, suggest that our families switch our power to wind power, which is available through our own power company. Meg Rosoff recommends for readers to "Walk, Chill, and Make a Pile". Tip one: keep the heat down. Tip two: walk more, and Tip three: make a compost heap. Author Elizabeth Levy writes about "Living in The City." 1- She doesn't own a car, 2- she rides a bike, 3-she takes the subway, and 4-she saves gas and the environment by living in the city. This is a simple book of wisdom and ideas for living green. It can be read straight through, or savored by reading a few tips each day. I highly recommend Recycle This Book for kids and their parents and teachers. I checked the book out at the library, but after finding so many places I wanted to mark with a highlighter, I decided to buy my own copy. Jill Ammon Vanderwood, author What's It Like Living Green?: Kids Teaching Kids, by the Way They Live

Richie's Picks: RECYCLE THIS BOOK

"CAPTAIN MEAN-GREEN'S TEN RULES TO SAVE THE PLANET By Robert Lipsyte "Never flush the toilet. "When it gets hot in the house, walk around naked. "When it gets cold, take the blanket off your grandma's bed and wear it. "Always shut off other people's computers, iPods, and cell phone chargers if they are not paying attention. "Instead of stealing a car, sneak onto public transportation. "Don't ask for plastic or paper at the supermarket; slip food into your pockets before you get to the checkout. "Brush your teeth every other day; wash yourself every third day. "Use your sleeve instead of napkins. "Scratch 'Save the Planet' on the hoods of SUVs. "Write shorter sentences to save trees. "Remember kids -- while Captain Mean-Green's rules are extreme, his message is clear: we all have to do our part to help save the environment and heal the damage that's been done to the planet." RECYCLE THIS BOOK is a lively collection of essays, stories, poems, and satire in which the contributors offer recommendations on how readers can change their behavior and surroundings for the sake of Mother Earth. Many suggestions -- like replacing lightbulbs and turning off the faucet while you are brushing your teeth -- are really simple and are free or cost almost nothing. Others -- like buying a hybrid vehicle or installing solar panels -- require family decisions and capital investment but promise big savings and a significant positive impact on the world that we will pass on to our descendants. Here's how I propose that readers use this book. First, you can brag about ten things advocated by the authors that you already do pretty well. Here's my list: 1. Like Lois Lowry, I have long saved energy by utilizing a clothesline to dry my laundry. 2. Like Todd Strasser, I save energy by dressing warmly and keeping my house relatively cool in the winter. (I actually don't have any thermostats or central heating or air conditioners in my house.) 3. Like Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, I always let the sun in to heat the house. When I built the house I oriented it so as to maximize the sunlight. 4. Like Maryrose Wood, I have helped save energy and rainforests by being -- for 30 years now -- a vegetarian. (A couple of years ago I finally weaned myself off of dairy products and am now a vegan.) 5. Like Meg Rosoff, I cut down on my waste stream by composting all of my food scraps. And like Andrew Clements, I separate out all of the glass, cardboard, paper, aluminum, scrap metal, and plastics for recycling. By time I'm done keeping everything out of the garbage, I end up having a load to bring to the dumps about once every three or four months. 6. Like James Howe, I reuse Mason jars as drinking glasses. It is healthy to drink plenty of fluids and so I fill up a jar with water or herbal tea and keep it near me all day while I'm working. I never buy or use disposable cups at home or at work. 7. Like several authors who discuss it in their essays, I am keenly aware of the en