The Last Plastic Straw: A Plastic Problem and Finding Ways to Fix It (Books for a Better Earth)
by Dee Romito (Author) Ziyue Chen (Illustrator)
Learn how and why a useful, 5000-year-old invention has become a threat to our planet and what you can do about it in this history of the simple straw.
From reeds used by ancient Sumerians to bendy straws in World War II hospitals, people have changed the straw to fit their needs for 5000 years. Today however, this useful tool is contributing to the plastic problem polluting our oceans. Once again, the simple straw needs a reinvention. With bright illustrations and well-researched text, children can read about the inventors behind the straw's technological advancements, including primary sources like patents, as well as how disposable plastic harms the environment.
See the newest solutions, from plastic straw alternatives to activism by real kids like Milo Cress who started the Be Straw Free campaign when he was 11 years old. Learn about what kids can do to reduce plastic waste. The backmatter includes more information on the movement to stop plastic waste, action items kids can do, a bibliography, and additional resources on plastic pollution.
Books for a Better Earth are designed to inspire children to become active, knowledgeable participants in caring for the planet they live on. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
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Publishers Weekly
A breezy overview of drinking straw history builds to a conservation-minded message about the need to reduce single-use plastics in this fascinating and accessible picture book, part of the new Books for a Better Earth series. Opening, Romito frames straws as tools responding to specific problems, beginning with reed drinking straws in ancient Sumer and tracing the development of paper and bendy iterations. The introduction of plastic varieties provides a segue to the way these objects--now ubiquitous "forever" trash--have generated a new problem. Romito offers a ready solution, pointing to the real-world activism of the child behind the "Be Straw Free" campaign while acknowledging situations in which plastic may be necessary. Chen's digital renderings of people of varying skin tones using straws across time have an informative, static quality that emphasizes the historical dimensions of their subject; a single real-life photo of microplastic reinforces the need for action. An author's note concludes. Ages 6-9. (Feb.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JNF037020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Environmental Conservation & Protection
JNF065000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Recycling & Green Living
Disposable tableware
Plastic scrap
Drinking straws
Enviromental aspects
