On a recent visit with my family in South Florida, my mom and I brought my five-year old nephew, Jaiden, to the bookstore. We watched Jaiden play with the train set in the children's area of the store for a while and then I began to browse around.
I noticed an Earth Day display in the main part of the store. On the display was an out-of-place book - one that was supposed to be displayed in the children's area. It was Dr. Seuss'
The Lorax, a book that teaches the lesson of environmental stewardship. Knowing that my nephew loves Dr. Seuss books, I decided to buy it for him.
I walked back to the children's area where I expected to see my mom still observing Jaiden as he played with the train. Instead, I found Jaiden browsing the kids' Earth Day display. I showed him
The Lorax and he was half amused. He then directed my attention to
Hey, That's Not Trash! But Which Bin Does It Go In? (Jablow & Byrne).
I was very pleased to see him interested in the book... and the larger display. Although, considering Jaiden's Aunt Jessica, it's really no surprise that an environmental consciousness lives within the child. I have been talking with him about Earth-related subjects since he was in the womb. When he was three years old he pointed to my shirt, which displayed a Recycle symbol, and said, "Aunt Jessica, that means Recycle."
So, now back to the book... It's a really cute book that teaches kids how to identify recyclables and sort them into the appropriate bins. "Bins" for plastic, metal and paper line the bottom of the book. Press-out recyclables are throughout the book. Moving along with the storyline, readers are encouraged to choose the correct bin in which to place the press-out pieces.
Jaiden's primary concern before purchasing the book was whether or not he was going to be able to retrieve the press-outs for reuse. I assured him that they wouldn't just go into a black hole and showed him how to open the bins. He was quite amused by the whole thing and I took the opportunity to teach him about what happens to real recyclables after they go into the bins. To my surprise - or not - I wasn't teaching him anything he didn't already know.