Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan

Publisher blurb: Every Monday, Mabel wakes up early and peeks out her window to make sure she didn’t miss the one thing she’s been looking forward to the whole week. She drags her chair down the hallway, past her big sister and Mom and Dad, out the door, and waits. What is Mabel waiting for every Monday? According to Mabel, it’s the best thing in the world. But no one else in her family seems to understand…until they see what’s honking down the street!

Begin with this fabulous page by page exploration of Every Monday Mabel by Travis Jonker at 100 Scope Notes.

Here are a few quotes from this article that resonated with me:

TITLE PAGE - Through this simple image, we understand that Mabel is in her house, and she is waiting and watching for something (something hinted at on the cover of the book).

Turn over two pages - We see that Mabel has grabbed the chair and the light from the window is projecting a large shadow on the wall. This accentuates the “forward” (to the right) progress, and also emphasizes the mystery of Mabel’s task - where is she headed?

Mabel runs past her sister's room - She’s in such a hurry that the “camera” can’t quite catch her, and, importantly, makes it clear that Mabel DOESN’T CARE that her sister doesn’t understand her obsession. She’s on a mission.

Now go back - click my link and keep reading. 

Awards:

• New York Public Library Best Book of 2025
• Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2025
• Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2025
• BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
• NPR Best Book of 2025
• 2025 Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Awards Winner
• Common Sense Media Best Book of 2025
• Smithsonian Magazine Best Children's Book of 2025
• One of the Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids of 2025
• The Children's Book Review Best Picture Book of 2025
• A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Most people don’t love Mondays, but Mabel does. Why? Because something very special and exciting happens every Monday morning, in this ode to garbage truck enthusiasts everywhere. Oh, I LOVE this. Seriously, I adore it. Man. I don’t think I’ve been giving Jashar Awan enough attention these last few years. This is a perfect encapsulation of what happens when someone finds that thing that they love and they then proceed to dedicate themselves to it heart, body, mind, and soul. The fact that Mabel’s family doesn’t understand her passion feels so very true, but does she care? She does not! She grabs that cereal, heads out the door, plants herself, and watches what she loves. And talk about a successful ending to the book! This is a book that gives kids, and the things that they love, respect. And on top of all of that, it reads aloud brilliantly. Betsy Bird 31 Days 31 lists

Every Monday Mabel appears on so many favourite 2025 book lists. Today I read it in a city bookstore. Sadly this book is a little too expensive here in Australia but if your budget does allow you to spend a little more money this is a terrific book to share with a preschool group - the final pages are especially fantastic. I have seen it listed between AUS$30 and AUS$47!

Captures the excitement of anticipation, the thrill of yearning realized, and truck love among the young. Kirkus

I was visiting a friend recently and her two-year-old grandson heard the distant sound of the garbage truck driving up their street. I could not hear it at all and nor could his grandmother until it was quite close but this little boy loves these trucks so much (as do heaps of children his age) that he could hear that truck and he knew it was their collection day!

Check out this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything where she shares heaps of other books about garbage trucks - you could explore this as a fun mini theme in your preschool.

Finally you MUST pair Every Monday Mabel with the Bluey episode called Bin Night - it is one of my favourites! This episode also talks about phases of the moon and mum offers gentle advice to Bingo about how to make friends with the new kid in her preschool. 

The Bridge Home Padma Venkatraman

Have you ever thought about the rhythm of reading. In a well written book I find it easy to slip into the rhythm of the writing. The pages almost seem to turn themselves. As I was sitting on a train yesterday reading this book everything around me disappeared. I was totally absorbed into the world of Viji, her sister Ruku and their two friends Muthi and Arul. This book deals with tough issues. Padma takes us into a harsh place where there is violence and desperate poverty and every day is about survival. These children are living life on the edge. I know this sounds odd, after I have mentioned such difficulties, but this book is also a joy to read. I so appreciate that I have meet these children and I feel privileged to now have a small understanding of their lives which sadly reflect the lives of many children in our world. 

You can click the review comments below for more plot details. I just wanted to add some text quotes to show you the power of this writing. These are description of the garbage heaps where the children work.

"Not far away was the largest garbage heap I'd ever seen. Mounds and mounds of junk and waste stretched out like a mountain range. The fragrance of wilted jasmine flowers mingled with the smell of goat droppings and every other bad smell imaginable."

"I squelched along as best I could, making slow progress. I speared a damp rag and shook it into my sack. But when I spotted a bottle, half filled with sour milk, I had to read for it with my bare hands. I wanted to run away screaming."

"After what felt like hours, my legs were coated with yellow and brown slime and my back was slick with sweat. A sense of hopelessness spread in my heart like the stains spreading on my skirt. Stains that would never wash out."

Please take a few minutes to watch Colby Sharp talking about this book. He uses words such as 'heartbreak'; 'rough'; 'makes you think'; 'powerful'; 'a book readers won't forget'; 'I read the first fifty pages and I was captivated'; 'an important book'; 'see a world different from mine through the pages of a book'; 'I'm a better person (because I read this book'.

At the end of this book go back and re-read the first chapter. The circle of the story will feel complete. You can hear an audio sample of the author reading her book here and this includes the first chapter. If you have some time here is a video interview with Padma. She talks about using fiction to build empathy. Here is Padma's web site.

A blisteringly beautiful book. Kirkus Star review

... this bittersweet story is about breaking the cycle of abuse, reaching for your dreams, and finding home in the most unlikely people and places. Horn Book

What is most striking about THE BRIDGE HOME is that, despite its brevity, it is filled with such passion, emotion and detail that it is impossible not to fall in love with the characters and the story. Readers are immediately sucked into the lives of Viji and Rukku. KidsReads

Although this is a middle grade novel, this book is raw and so unbearably real. The circumstances these four young children face each day is heard of through charity commercials. They struggle to find food, shelter, and clothes. The dangers of the environment play a heavy role in this story, making it so realistic that you’re worried about how these children could possibly survive. Towards the end, something does happen that makes you burst into tears. These children that you fall in love with are not in a fantastical world but in the real world we see today and they’re not invincible. Remarkablylisa

I would follow this book with Trash and Ibqal.

Dougal the Garbage dump bear by Matt Dray

Tuesday Treasure

I have decided to highlight an older book each Tuesday for the next few months. Many of these will be out of print but you may/should find them in a school library. They are books I enjoyed reading in my school library.

Recently I met a lady who was driving a yellow and black Smart car with the number plate BeeBee.

It made me think of the bee character named Bumble in Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear. I love to quote his lines:

"To bee or to bee."
"As long as we all bee-have ourselves."
"Why can't he just let us bee?"

In my memory Bumble also said "I want to bee a bee." but I seem to have made that one up!

Dougal, the teddy bear, is discarded by his family and finds himself taken to the garbage dump. The workers rescue him and sit him on a bench by the pond. After a few lonely days, Dougal is joined by Bumble and then over time many more soft toys join them including "a shaggy thing with one eye that didn't know what it was." The boss finally arrives and says 45 toys are too many for the dump so the kindly workers take all of them to a cottage by the sea. "They couldn't believe their luck."

I love the little touches of humour in this book along with the extras in the illustrations such as coffee stains, a dead fly and the photo of a spiral binding because this book is designed to look like a photo album.

Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear was shortlisted by the CBC in 2005 in the Early Childhood picture book category. The winner that year was Where is the Green sheep? which is still available in many formats while sadly Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear is out of print although it did reappear as a board book in 2012. If you enjoy controversy, some libraries in the US banned Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear because of these lines:

And some days, mostly on Fridays, they would go out with the men after work and play pool and get home very late.
And always the next day, they would both feel very sick from drinking too many ginger beers, and have to sleep it off in the airconditioned dragon.
'Never again,' Bumble would say.
'I need an iced coffee,' Dougal would say.

I am so pleased to share this quote from the Kirkus reviewer:

The juxtaposition of Dray’s wry narrative with his quixotic and uniquely compelling snapshots proves engaging across the generations. A heartfelt message at tale’s end regarding triumphing over adversity proves that this odd duckling of a story is truly a swan.

Two other treasures which could link with this book are Katherine and the Garbage Dump and Simp (originally published as Cannonball Simp).

The Tin Forest by Helen Ward illustrated by Wayne Anderson

The Tin Forest is a wonderful book first published in Australia in 2003. Here is some good news this book is still available. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to talk about it here but last week I visited a very small rural school and took The Tin Forest along to share with them. This tiny school is part of a group of small schools and each term they work on a joint topic which this term is sustainability. The Tin Forest is an ideal book to explore this topic.  I sat down today and read it again and knew I just had to talk about it here.

Why do I love this book?

1.  Language
"There was once a wide, windswept place
near nowhere and close to forgotten."
I love these poetic words which are repeated at the beginning and end of the text.

Alliteration
sifting and sorting
burning and burying
toucans, tree frogs and tigers

Take a look at these detailed teaching ideas.

2.  Work ethic and hope
Each day the old man clears up the rubbish. He does not become disheartened. He has a dream which leads to an idea which plants itself inside his head. With the help of some birds who come to eat crumbs, left from his sandwiches, we see a spectacular transformation of this neglected and unwanted place.

3.  Illustrations
The grey used at the start of the book shows a desolate and metallic environment. The subtle colour palette in this book allows the reader to anticipate the brilliant colour when the real garden takes over the rubbish dump.  The early pages have little spotlights of colour. The light is yellow inside the man's home, outside we see yellow light globes which look like flowers, a yellow toucan beak, bright red flowers that sprout from seeds dropped by the birds and finally a page filled with all the colours. Take a look at Wayne Anderson's web pages.

4.  Stage Production and more formats
I was excited to discover a stage production of this book from 2014 and it is on again soon. I think that demonstrates it impact and importance of this story. Here is a wonderful animated film made by students from Cincinnati.  You may even be able to find the edition which came with a story CD.

Helen Ward is an author and illustrator. You can see some of here work here.

This fantasy conveys a message all the more inspiring for its understatement: one individual who dares to dream can make a world of difference. Publishers Weekly

I like to link this book with these titles:

Ada's violin by Susan Hood illustrated by Sally Wern Comport

Picture books are given formidable tasks to perform for their young readers – to entertain, to offer new experiences, to expand emotional vocabulary and empathy, to explore their own worlds or the worlds beyond. 

Ada’s Violin accomplishes all with clear language, impressive story, and stunning art.  Nerdy Book Club

Everything about this book is important.  The wonderful vision of one man to form an orchestra, the making of instruments from materials found in the garbage, the possibility of a different life for these young orchestra members and the simply stunning illustrations.

Start with this little film.  You will hear the wonderful sounds these children can make using instruments made from an amazing assortment of recycled materials.  Here is a report from US Sixty Minutes.

Ada's grandmother sees an advertisement for music lessons.  There are no music instruments.  There are so many children who want to learn.  Favio Chavez is not defeated.  He enlists help to make instruments from the junk dropped daily at the dump near their town and so the orchestra begins.

This book is based on the true life story of Ada Rios and the children in her town of Cateura in Paraguay.  You can read more about this at the back of the book along with further reading and web links.

I would pair this book with Magic Trash, The paper house and the senior novel Trash by Andy Mulligan.

Malkin Moonlight by Emma Cox

Every journey begins with one paw step.

Malkin is a true hero.  He is a cat with nine lives, but early in his life one is lost.  He knows he has a destiny - he feels the tug of some unseen force.  The moon explains this :

"There is a kindness inside you, little cat, and peace.  ... You will be brave, even when those around you are afraid. And you will make great sacrifices for friendship - you will be a true friend."

As a young kitten he is nearly downed, along with his brothers and sister, by his owner.  Luckily Malkin escapes and finds his way to an inn where he meets Roux.

"Malkin has not seen a cat that looks like this before. She is the colour of cream and smoke. Her fur is longer than his and softer looking. ... She smells of wet grass and small flowers."

When the Inn is sold Roux and Malkin move to the recycling centre.  He finds a group of cats living there and while they welcome this new pair they warn of  danger over the wall.  Malkin knows, however, this is the place, over the wall, that he needs to go.  He must use his gifts to reunite this group of cats - the wild and the domestic, the clean and the unclean, but first come some terrible fights between this group of recycling cats and the Putrescibles.  These are the cats who have been exiled to live in the garbage dump beside the recycling centre.  It is a truly terrible place.  These cats, led by the aptly named Toxic, are starving and smell utterly putrid.

Some things you need to know about the cats in this book :

• They have nine lives as you might expect but when a life is lost is quite harrowing
• Their senses are very keen but can be 'turned off' which is lucky when Malkin ventures over the wall
• Cats have a sixth sense which allows one cat to 'read' another
• The moon is a special friend to all cats

There are a lot of themes in Malkin Moonlight but the love story between Malkin and Roux is especially beautiful.  The scenes at in the garbage dump are also well described and I almost needed to hold my breath so I would not smell the putrid environment.  The names used for each section in the recycling centre will make you smile - glass bottles and jars, mattresses, mixed textiles and clothes and my favourite section - Newspapers where the cats go to read the news each day.

Here is a set of writing ideas based on each chapter.  After reading Malkin Moonlight I recommend you look for Varjak Paw and The story of a seagull and the cat who taught her to fly.  I am not really a cat person but I thoroughly enjoyed Malkin Moonlight.  If you pick up this book and you are not sure about reading it take a look at chapter 36 and 37 - they will give you an excellent idea of the emotions and action in this story.

Emma Cox’s debut novel is a stunning animal adventure full of philosophical wisdom and life skills. It is a journey of hope, transition, and love. Kids Book Review

Friendship, kindness, bravery and family are central to this story as is the importance of looking after our environment.  A must read for anyone who likes cats!  The Bookactivist

Trash by Andy Mulligan

Start here listening to this interview on our 

ABC Radio program Life Matters.

"I was a trash boy since I was old enough to move without help and pick things up. ... Let me tell you what we're looking for.  Plastic, because plastic can be turned into cash, fast - by the kilo."

The dump workers are also looking for paper if it is white a clean, cardboard, tin cans, glass bottles, clothing and rubber.  No one would expect to find eleven hundred pesos in a wallet with a map, ID card, photos and a key.  This is an amazing thing to find but it will lead the boys - Raphael, Gardo and Jun Jun (known as Rat) - into places even worse than the dump itself.

A group of five police arrive that night asking if anyone has found a bag.

"I nearly raised my hand.  I nearly spoke up then and there."

Raphael does not reveal his find but his auntie says "Raphael found something, sir."  The police return and Raphael is arrested and brutally interrogated.  This scene is why I would suggest this book is for mature readers only.  It is very confronting.

Thank goodness our little group of heroes do survive and right the wrong and even, perhaps, make the world a better place.  The final chapters will have you cheering!

A couple of years ago a Grade Six boy asked me to buy Trash for our school library. I imagine he may have seen the movie.  I read some reviews and hesitated.  This is a book which might better suit a 12+ student but I decided to buy it and see.  Sadly I do not think this boy was able to actually read this book although he did borrow it and keep it for several months.

On the other hand I read Trash in one sitting and was absolutely gripped by the story.  One of the things that makes this book so compelling is the use of alternating voices.  Each of the three boys along with Father Juilliard who runs the Behala Mission school and Olivia, who works there as a volunteer, recount the events over the days after Raphael finds the money.

Here is a written interview with Andy Mulligan.  If you are using this book with a class of High School students you could make use of this web page from Andy himself where he visits 80 dumps.

Click each of these review to read more about Trash.

Kirkus  "It all adds up to a cracker of a thriller."
Kids Book Review "We clearly see the boys and their world in our mind's eye and not only that - we feel their pain and angst and determination in an almost visual way."
BookZone4Boys "Every now and then a book sneaks up on the unsuspecting public, with very little fanfare, and hits you where it hurts the most - in the heart."
Read in a single Sitting "These issues are explored with beautiful subtlety as the narrative takes a turn that while inevitable, is utterly welcomed by the reader."

The very important idea by Emma Dodson

This is a story about problem solving.  It is also very funny.  Mr Fat Cat has a very important idea which he promptly forgets following a small catastrophe in the office kitchen caused the new employee Rat.

Rat, ever anxious to be helpful, scurries off to find a a new 'VERY IMPORTANT IDEA'.  Naturally his search begins at his favourite place - the local tip.  "It was a rat's paradise - everything you could ever want."  Rat finds a wonderful sock which he takes back to the office where he makes a formal presentation using a large flip board.  Mr Fat Cat is horrified.  He does not want a sticky old sock. Rat goes back to the tip where he finds an even better sock which has so many uses from fashion accessory to hammock.  This sock is of course rejected immediately by Mr Fat Cat but Rat has one more idea.  He swaps the latest sock for a magic sock which he uses like a snake charmer.  It is at this moment Mr Fat Cat remembers his very important idea.  Perhaps you have already guessed what it is! I am happy to say no rats were harmed in the making of this book.

I would link this book with Strat and Chatto.  It also made me think of Letters from A Mouse which is a tiny chapter book that I adore.  It is long out of print but we are lucky to have two copies in our school library.
 
I think socks are a wonderful mini theme idea for younger students.  Here are some titles you might find in your library and here are some amazing ways to use old and odd socks.

Why not add a poem when you read this book.  Here is one about lost socks.

The Missing Sock by Angela Wybrow

This afternoon, I had quite a big shock: 

I discovered that I have a missing sock! 

I put my socks inside the washing machine, 

But now one sock is nowhere to be seen.

I started my hunt earlier - had a scout around, 

But, as yet, the missing sock is still to be found.

It's not hung on the line or the clothes airer.

It needs to be reunited with me: its wearer.

The socks were one of my favourite pairs: 

Light blue with a snowy white polar bear.

They also had stars sewn with silvery thread.

I've looked on the floor and inside my bed.

With a missing sock, I've no peace of mind; 

That missing sock, I simply need to find.

It has to be somewhere within the house -

Or maybe it has been stolen by a mouse! 

That poor little sock is all lonely and lost; 

I'll do anything to retrieve it: whatever the cost.

I'm feeling quite upset, as I really do hate

The thought of it coping without its mate.

With the missing sock, I am quite obsessed, 

And, until I have found it, I will not rest.

That missing sock, I will keep looking for

Until it's safe and sound back in its drawer.