Sound bites are a great way to inform young readers. You pass a great deal of information over a wide variety of subjects without becoming overwhelming. And Fyvie achieves this goal. She presents plenty of facts about foot garbage, recyclables, e-waste, and more. We see how various kinds of trash break down in landfills, ideal methods of disposal, social and political debates, and efforts to lower environmental impacts. It can easily be read section by section or picked at in small bites of factoids. The information is well supported by cartoon style illustrations that both inform and entertain.

An excellent, detailed reference book. The authors have included lots of detailed illustrations which read like flowcharts. Recommenced for the advanced student.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how it was organized into various sections – food, clothing, metal, etc. The visuals were engaging and drew you in so you wanted to read more about them. I also liked how every page had a different layout so it kept the book fresh. Sometimes it’s easy for students to lose interest in nonfiction books if they’re not visually appealing, but this is definitely a book that would hold their interest. It would be perfect to read during an environmental unit in school. I think it would probably appeal more to Grade 4-7 because of the content covered, but could definitely be adapted for other grades though. Overall an excellent book that is very informative.

Informs kids where the products they buy come from and what they cost in terms of hydrocarbons, water waste, etc. in production and then where they usually go when thrown away and how (or if) they break down. Cutting edge ideas of how to make things better for the world are introduced, as well as practical alternatives to use the Earth’s resources in wiser ways.

This book doesn’t just tell kids, recycle because it is good. It explains exactly why you should recycle (and whether or not it is even possible), or if there is another possibility to consider. The details on production byproducts and waste byproducts goes into more detail than I’ve ever seen in a book for kids, but it does so in ways that are very understandable and readable. The cutting-edge ideas to make things better are fascinating, and I can see a class getting motivated to encourage their city to implement some of these changes for the good of their area. If you want kids to be wise consumers and take strides to really make changes for the better in the Earth’s environment, this book provides a great tool. Highly recommended for middle grade readers interested in the environment and ecology of the Earth, those interested in becoming more savvy consumers, and of course science classrooms. (And since there’s nothing like this that I know of out there for YA, go ahead and hand it to teens too and those AP Environmental Science teachers too.)

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle is a non fiction children's book written by Erica Fyvie and illustrated by Bill Slavin. It is currently scheduled for release on April 3 2018.

All the “stuff” that surrounds us has a life cycle: materials are harvested, the stuff is made and distributed, it's consumed and then it gets trashed or recycled. Using the typical contents of a child's school backpack (defined as water, food, clothing, paper, plastic, metals, electronics), this book explores those stages in detail, including lots of ways to reduce, reuse or recycle waste along the way. Children will gain new insight into the routine decisions they make about their own consuming and trashing or recycling practices. For example: How long does it take for a cotton T-shirt to decompose in a landfill? Can a bike helmet be made from recyclable materials? Which is better for the Earth, wrapping a sandwich in aluminum foil or plastic? By learning to use critical thinking skills to make informed choices, children will feel empowered by the important, constructive role they can play in the future health of the planet. It includes a glossary, resources, bibliography and index.

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle is a solid explanation of how things are made, disposed of, and or recycled. Making the information more accessible, it is all related to the items a reader in the target audience might carry around with them in their school backpack. This makes it a little more interesting and relevant to their day to day life, so it is more likely they will want to learn the information and hopefully retain it. The use of every day objects in the explanations brings it all home. I like that the information is well organized; complete with info graphics, charts, and sidebars. I also like that the information is followed by how these processes impact the world around us, and how readers can effect change in big or small was with the choices they make. Empowering them to take action rather than just leaving them feeling lectured or blamed for the things they might have done in the past. I will say that the feel of the book was a little textbook like- for some reason the cover and set up reminded me of some of the older classroom books that get read as assigned, but not looked for otherwise. I think that would be a shame with this book, since it is so well done, but can see some students passing it by for that reason. However, in the same vein it could be a perfect go-to resource for elementary science and social studies classrooms.

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle is a straightforward and accessible guide for young readers. The explanations of the cycle of waste-including water, paper, food, plastic and more challenging types of materials.

I love informational books like this that have lots of illustrations. Some of my students are intimidated by non-fiction texts, and this format really helps the book not seem so wordy, even though it contains a lot of great information. There are sections about how to recycle all different types of materials, from glass to plastics, as well as highlights about the importance of shopping locally and how water treatment plants work. I think this book is fantastic for upper elementary and middle school students, and it's format makes it easily accessible for all.

I think I'd have to give Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle a positive rating even if it was only because of the number of times it inspired me to type the randomest things into Google to find out more about them: edible/compostable spoons, Suzanne Lee (growing her own fabric!), Landfill Harmonic (instruments made from trash!), The Ocean Cleanup, and more.

This book is organized into several sections that cover some of the most common things you might find in a typical backpack, such as food, paper, clothes, electronics, etc. It then details how most of the materials are produced, and what typically happens to them after they are discarded, as well as lots of statistics along the way. The "how it's made" part was pretty interesting to me, as well as information about which materials can be recycled, and to what extent (I didn't realize there was a limit to the number of times some materials can be recycled, whereas things like glass can be recycled an indefinite number of times).

While the book clearly has an agenda devoted to promoting less waste, I don't think that's such a bad agenda, and I didn't find the tone preachy or heavy-handed. The text is laid out well, covering the major points in small sections, and also highlighting interesting people and organizations that are devoted to reducing their waste production. There are also lots of illustrations, which are especially helpful during the multistep descriptions of material production.

Although sources aren't "cited," there is a list of further resources at the end, as well as an index. Here or there I questioned some information -- for example, on page 13 we're told that "organic" food means it's "grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides" -- while I'm quite sure that organic crops can still use pesticides, and all of them are made of chemicals.

But overall this was a well organized tour of the "waste cycle" that many of us are a large part of, and an inspiring look at how much less wasteful we could be, and should try to be.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)