Gabby & Grandma Go Green

K-Gr 1—This simple book about recycling, reusing, and reducing is so focused on getting its message across that it ends up being dry and rather dull. Gabby and her grandmother spend a day together, first making cloth bags, then shopping, recycling, picnicking, and talking about other things they can do to preserve the environment. The ideas are not new, and the characters are not well developed. The illustrations are flat—people appear like paper dolls, without personality. On most pages a tiny mouse with a megaphone repeats the lesson illustrated, such as "Not a plastic bag in sight," or "Let's recycle glass, plastic, and paper." Unfortunately, it is not engaging enough to distract from the preachiness of its messages. Janet S. Wong's The Dumpster Diver (Candlewick, 2007), Melanie Walsh's 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World (Candlewick, 2008), or any of the recent titles about Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, such as Janet Winter's Wangari's Trees of Peace (Harcourt, 2008); Dona Napoli's Mama Miti (S & S, 2010); or Claire A. Nivola's Planting the Trees of Kenya (Farrar, 2008) are better choices.—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME