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- Essay Name : 551.txt
- Uploader : Christy
- Email Address :
- Language : english
- Subject : Education
- Title : Mrs. Katz and Tush
- Grade : graduate school
- School System : Maryland
- Country : USA
- Author Comments : review of children's book
- Teacher Comments : A, well written
- Date : 11/3/96
- Site found at : browsing
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- Bailey, D. (1991). What we can do about litter. New York: Franklin Watts.
-
- What we can do about litter is a book designed to educate children about litter, why
- it is a problem, and how they can help to eliminate the problem. This book is very well
- constructed and is extremely concise. Each aspect of litter discussed is divided into a topic
- and is clearly labeled with headings. This allows the reader to learn in a step-by-step
- progression from what litter is, to the activities they can do themselves to help eliminate this
- problem.
- The author starts out by clearly defining litter as ôtrash that has been dropped
- carelessly, or has not been collected and put in a garbage can.ö She explains that it is not
- just one person creating this litter problem, but it is a culmination of many people and
- businesses. The book then goes on to show the different environments where litter is a
- problem and gives examples in cities, countrysides, the ocean and beachfront areas.
- Throughout these topics, there are bolded key words such as ôrecycled,ö ôillegal
- dumping,ö ôhealth hazard,ö and ôbiodegradeö that can easily be looked up in the bookÆs
- glossary. In addition, the table of contents and subheadings provide quick reference and
- ease of reading. The book is very user friendly for teachers as well as the independent
- young reader.
- The author demonstrates how litter can affect people in cities, but her emphasis is
- how it affects the wildlife in the countryside, rivers and lakes. ôEvery year, thousands of
- small animals die when they get trapped in bottles and cans.ö She also tells of how animals
- can be poisoned by carelessly discarded cans that held paint and other chemicals. ôLitter
- thrown into rivers and lakes is just as dangerous. Many wild duck and geese die because
- careless fishermen leave bits of fishing tackle line in the water and nylon fishing lines get
- wound around the ducksÆ beaks.ö
- Throughout the book there are many pictures of litter, the different areas it occurs,
- and the profound effects of littering. The pictures are very graphic and emphasize the
- magnitude of the problem. Photos such as a seal trapped in a fishing net will have a lasting
- impression on children. The book could have been even more forceful and created a
- greater impact on the reader if the author had used more facts, such as the number of tons
- of litter collected or recycled each year.
- The next portion of the book is dedicated to ôclearing up the mess.ö The author
- describes the different people who help clean up litter such as sanitation workers in cities,
- and voluntary groups such as conservation organizations in the countryside. The author
- writes of the need to educate people about the dangers of littering and says we must teach
- people to respect the world in which we live.
- The last part of the book tells the reader that ôit is up to you!ö It goes on to explain
- the things we, as readers, can do to prevent litter. The author gives some rules that must
- be followed when cleaning up litter and gives suggestions of how the readers can organize
- anti-litter campaigns and activities to include people in their schools and neighborhoods.
- Litter is an important subject of which students and people of all ages need to be
- made aware. This book was designed to teach children who may not understand the
- concept or definition of litter about the problems litter creates and the effects it has on all
- living creatures. The text in the book seems to have been carefully chosen so that children
- can easily relate to the problem. At one point the author writes, ôno one like friends and
- visitors to drop pieces of paper, banana peels and soda cans in their homes.ö The author
- does a good job of guiding the reader through the entire progression of litter problems and
- then offers effective solutions that can easily be implemented by individuals, no matter
- what age.
- I believe that the illustrations and educational format are the primary reasons why
- this book is so effective. It is very appealing to the young reader and the suggestions for
- intervention can easily be carried out, allowing the children to become involved and learn
- from the activities and experiences presented as well as from the book itself. The teacher
- can incorporate this book into a variety of subjects and lessons, most obviously in the earth
- science curriculum. The book would help to demonstrate the effects of littering in terms of
- pollution to land, air and water, as well as its effects on animals and humans. Simple
- experiments and activities could take place in the classroom and on short field trips to local
- parks, shopping centers, the local dump, etc.
- Social studies is another subject area where this book could be used. Children will
- learn about their government laws regarding litter and their responsibility as citizens to their
- community and environment. Group discussion could be followed up by a clean-up activity
- that may involve both children and their families.
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