Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic first caught my eye because of the Marx brother film with the same name. Max decides to prepare a delicious soup and puts his culinary skills to the test. Max is MIA when Bebe the bird, Dakota the cat, and Brody the dog enter the kitchen. The animals search for Max…who knows where he just might turn up. 
When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick chronicles the story of Marian Anderson, a talented singer and the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. It is told through narration and traditional songs. It beautifully depicts Marian’s perseverance to achieve her dreams while facing multiple roadblocks. Brian Selznick’s uncle Richard’s recollections inspired the telling of this tale, even though Richard’s memory proved exaggerated and sometimes untrue. Selznick’s illustrations drew my attention more than the text. (The picture is of my signed copy by Brian Selznick.)
The Dumpster Diverproves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder; one woman’s trash is another person’s treasure. It is the story of Steve, a boy who dives in the neighborhood dumpster. He seeks out the perfect gifts for his neighbors The author, Janet Wong, provides the inspiration behind the book on her website:
Why did I write The Dumpster Diver?
I am drowning in junk. My basement, garage, and closets are full of just-slightly-broken furniture, outdated electronics, parts and pieces of my son’s old toys, and strange doodads that people thought would make a funny gift. Every year I take a big load of my best junk to Goodwill. I leave the slightly-broken stuff at home. I could throw the broken stuff away, but that would seem too wasteful. And so the piles in my basement, garage, and closets continue to grow.
A few years ago I met Kerry Wade, an artist who makes furniture out of old things. I loved the chair he crafted out of broken wooden skis. When I asked him how he got the idea to make it, he answered, “Oh, I’m just a Dumpster Diver!” The idea of this intrigued me; I don’t want kids to start jumping into Dumpsters, though! In The Dumpster Diver, the kids decide (at the end of the book) that asking neighbors for old and unused stuff is much better than digging through trash.
The Dumpster Diver is a call-to-action to all of us to stop throwing good stuff away. I would be thrilled if my book started a trend: I’d like to see groups of children and adults get together to fix and build new things out of Useful Junk. This would be a good Earth Day project. Or something fun and unusual to do at birthday parties, or in the summer. A substitute for frenzied shopping at the mall—and good practice that might lead to becoming an inventor, engineer, or Mad Scientist!
My message to kids: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle! Have fun with your junk, while you make this world a better place!
