General Waste by Michel Streich

When you pick up this book don't rush to open it. Spend a little time - stretch out the cover; touch the cover (it is embossed) and then stop and think about the meanings of the title. Now turn to the hectic end papers which are filled with - yes waste! Can you and your young reading companion or library group identify some of these objects - I see a toaster, clothing, toys, a hair dryer, plants, a stapler, a flower vase, a trombone, a bucket, several pots and pans, a toy dinosaur (at least I hope it's a toy), a arrow, a fish, chicken drumsticks, a spade, an electric toothbrush, a golf club, pliers, assorted cutlery, and so much more.

Turn the page to meet the man himself - General Waste. 

"He had a different toothbrush for every day of the week, six hairdryers, (and) his house was filled with a myriad of machines, power tools, widgets and contraptions. There were so many he could hardly remember what they were used for."

"Every day, General Waste took a very long shower, just for fun. He called it the 'hour of shower'."

General Waste lives on the top floor of the house - meanwhile on the bottom floor we meet Gram-Gram and she lives an opposite life.

"Gram-Gram saved every morsel of food, and she carefully stored leftovers in the fridge. She had a pantry ... filled with preserved vegetables, meats and fruits."

Gram-Gram rides her bicycle everywhere and she carefully mends her well worn clothes so they can last a lot longer.

An astute reader will know something has to happen - especially when we see the enormous pile of packaging in the yard and even more when General Waste himself is burried in all those boxes and packets. 

Luckily Gram-Gram is sensible, brave, and resourceful. She rescues the silly little man and then sets about showing him other ways of living. How to repair broken stuff, how to make new things from old stuff, how to cook, how to create, and how to grow a productive garden filled with food to share.

This book is didactic but it is also funny and wise and the illustrations are so lively. I think a class could find a lot to talk about on topics like consumerism, pollution, waste disposal, environmental action, packaging, and so on. 

Bookseller blurb: General Waste loves stuff! Wasting lots of stuff! He tosses away apples after one bite, he has hour-long showers, he must have the latest uniform fashion, and he rides around in a monster truck! He shares a house with Gram-Gram. She always saves her leftovers, does her own repairs and cycles everywhere! One day, when General Waste finds himself trapped under a mountain of his own stuff, Gram-Gram comes to the rescue ... General Waste is a hilarious tale about how to find joy in the simple things in life.

I picked up this book because I loved a precious book by Michel Streich. I also talked about The worst dog in the world.

Scary Bird

About Michel: I was born in the Westphalia region of Germany, where I grew up and studied visual communication and graphic design, specializing in illustration. After graduating, I moved to London and started my career as a freelance illustrator. Three years later, in 2000, I relocated to Australia, first basing myself in Sydney, and now in the Blue Mountains West of Sydney.

The Fixer of Broken Things by Julia Patton

Don't worry! Now we have spoken, I fix what is broken.

Beatrice Millicent Robinson is a fixer. She fixes a tiny precious clock with no tock; counting machine which is kaput; and an enormous mechanical elephant that has stopped stomping. Everyone knows Bea can fix anything. One day a spaceship arrives. No problem - Bea can fix this too. Then comes the twist.  She finds a small broken heart - how can this be mended?

Bookseller blurb: Bea is a fixer. She is the finest fixer, far and wide, and people bring her everything - from tiny sprockets to enormous rockets - because they know she'll have them working again in no time. One day, Bea finds a broken thing. It's very small and very sad, and try as hard as she might, she cannot fix it. Bea soon realises that not every problem has to be solved alone, and that talking to her friends is the answer she has been looking for.

Julia Patton is an author and illustrator of over 45 picture books. She works from a rustic woodshed in the wilds of Northumberland, UK with her husband and two boys. Love Reading 4 Kids

In an ironic twist - I accidentally spilled a small amount of water on this book - and NO it cannot be fixed not even by Bea. Luckily I have been able to order a brand new copy for the library.

Clink by Kelly DiPucchio and Matthew Myers

This book was published in 2011 so I was surprised to discover it is still available but sadly it is quite expensive here in Australia. [9780061929281]

Begin with the end papers which are blue prints issued August 22, 1938 showing the design of CLINK model 3674A. CLINK is 

• intended for indoor use
• not suitable for immersion
• may be fitted with a waffle iron head
• it is not advised to form a relationship between the contractor and the completed model

Clink is languishing in the robot shop. He is rusty, squeaky and falling apart. 

"Nobody wanted an old robot."

"The world, it seemed, was no longer interested in a robot who had been programmed to play music and make toast."

"One by one, Clink watched his friends go home with happy families. He hadn't been programmed to cry, but somehow he leaked rusty tears every time. Then something inside that old robot broke, and he simply switched off his speakers and gave up."

In this picture you can see Clink making burnt toast and his disastrous hair clipping skills.

Then one day a young boy steps into the store. Somehow Clink catches his attention (think of Corduroy by Don Freeman). It doesn't matter that Clink is old, broken, rusty and out of tune. The young boy knows Clink is perfect. And so yes, we have that all important happy ending. 

I found the original Harper Collins trailer. See inside this book here. Use the label robots at the bottom of this post to see other robot picture books and novels I have explored on this blog. I am slightly crazy about robots!

DiPucchio has created a world where robots are cool but only if they are new.  Her writing is long enough to really describe a full world.  The book reads aloud easily and has a great built-in appeal with the charm of Clink himself on the cover and the robot theme.  Waking Brain Cells

You can see other books by Kelly DiPucchio here. 

The text in this book reminded me of Arthur by Amanda Graham - no body wanted an old dog. I also thought of Arnold the Prickly Teddy. 

Read more here

Ruby's Repair Cafe by Michelle Worthington illustrated by Zoe Bennett

Ruby loves to repair things and her family have a repair store. People bring broken toasters, kettles, radios, guitars, crockery and more. Things do not need to be thrown away - they can be repaired. BUT a new store opens right next door. It is the BIGG Department store. Over time (this is not shown in the story) everyone changes their shopping habits and eventually (we know this took some months not just one day) the Repair Cafe is forced to close down. Everyone wants new shiny things but in an interesting twist or perhaps an expected consquence, the town dump begins to fill up with "broken bits, old clothes and random rubbish. The stinky smell wafted on the wind."

One night there is a huge storm. The roof blows off the BIGG Department store and most of his stock is ruined. Luckily Ruby is a girl who loves to solve problems and she is an expert at repairs!

The end papers in this book are perfect. Here are some very simple teachers notes - I am sure you could think of deeper questions for your class. My only tiny quibble with this book comes from disparity between the important environmental sustainability message in this story and the use of children to run the repair shop and children who help restore the shops after the storm. Ruby is a child perhaps aged around ten and Mr Bigg is a young adult or a young man aged around twenty. We do see Ruby's parents and grandparents in their repair store but Ruby herself seems to be the main worker?

This book will be a good addition to your library or classroom because it will generate some terrific discussions about our disposable society, the role of garbage dumps, urban renewal, town planning, small suburban shopping strips, and community co-operation. There is also a layer here of the big corporation versus the small local business. ALL of that in a book aimed at readers aged 7+ - I hope you are amazed. Here is the website for the illustrator Zoe Bennett. You can see other books by Michelle Worthington here. Many years ago, two of her books were CBCA Notable titles (Glitch and The World's worst Pirate). 

Companion books:

The Fixer of broken things

Read more about this book here (published March, 2024)

Q Pootle 5 by Nick Butterworth

Tuesday Treasure

The start of this book is very noisy.

SSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRREEEEEE 

KARUPMMP!

Q Pootle 5 has landed. He has crash landed. This is a disaster. Q Pootle 5 was on his way to a birthday party for his friend Z Pootle 6 and now he might be late. He needs a new rocket booster. The creatures on Earth are friendly but the green frog has no idea about this and neither do the birds. Then along comes a cat called Colin eating a tin of cat food. That tin is the perfect rocket booster.

"Q Pootle 5 climbs into his spaceship.
He presses the starter button, but nothing happens.
'Oh, beeebotherbootle!' says Q Pootle 5."

Colin sees the problem. He takes a spoon and pulls out a bit of dinner which is stuck in the bottom of the rocket booster. When you turn to the last page be prepared for a surprise.

I was so sad when I realised the Q Pootle 5 series had been culled from my former library but the good news is they are still in print. The titles are Q Pootle 5 in Space and Q Pootle 5 The great Space Race.  I have now discovered there is also a television series. The youngest children in your school library or pre-school will love meeting Q Pootle 5. Try to find a copy on your next library visit.

Watch Q Pootle Five on ABC (Australia) television: https://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/q-pootle-5/

There are 52 episodes

I have also discovered there are Q Pootle 5 toys. I need to add one of these to my collection.

Here are some other books illustrated by Nick Butterworth:

Jingle Bells

Albert Le Blanc

Trixie the witch's cat

Jasper's Beanstalk