Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Choose to Reuse
Illustrator: Wes Thomas
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Millbrook Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0761385110
In his household, Tyler’s job is to take out the trash. He is grateful that he has “big muscles” so that he can lift all the heavy bags and take the junk out to the curb, but he is concerned because the trash his family creates is “really bad for the Earth.” There has to be something he and his family members can do.
The good news is that there is something that can be done about this problem. Tyler and his mom agree that they need to throw away less and reuse more. The more they reuse, the less trash there will be that will need to burned or buried.
Tyler and his mother come to realize that there are so many things that can be reused. Tyler can reuse some of the school supplies that he used last year. He can give away his old clothes, and buy new clothes at the thrift store. Instead of buying a new bike, Tyler and his mom take his broken bike to be fixed. Trading toys with friends and borrowing books from the library are also great strategies to use so that less stuff gets thrown away.
In this excellent picture book, the author uses a very ordinary boy character to help readers to see how easy it is to make reusing a part of your life. With humorous comments from Tyler, and with plenty of tips on almost every double page spread, this is a title that every child should read.
