Summary
A young girl, Isatou faces problems within her home village in Gambia. She found plastic bags, thinking they were beautiful inventions. The bags then began to pile up to where she realized “plastic isn’t beautiful anymore”. The waste crowded the village, harming livestock as they ate the plastic. Isatou was then determined to find a resolution to the problem and crocheted pursues, recycling the plastic material. The whole village followed in her footsteps and the pile of waste grew smaller.
Theme(s):
Perseverance, problem solving, dedication, teamwork
Personal Response
This book was wonderfully composed and illustrated as it shared the story of struggles faced from littering. This issue impacts all aspects of life in a given area, taking away from the beauty of the location and even harming animals. Instead of ignoring the problem Isatou did something about it and shared her ideas with her village, showing her dedication to overcome a problem within her community and working together with others to lessen the amount of waste in their area, prompting recycling.
Teaching Ideas
This book can be utilized within the classroom to discuss problems that pollution and littering cause to their community. This is a great book to read within school as this is an issue everywhere. Students can discuss how often they notice garbage around their area and why it is an issue. Then students can even take action and help clean up an area within or even outside of the classroom to promote the importance of preventing littering, recycling and helping make the planet a better place.
Recommended Reading Level
Grade 02, Grade 03, Grade 04
