Garbage Gulls

Gr 1-3–Through rhyming text, Plourde weaves a tale of two young brothers and their imaginative day. The boys relax in an abandoned car in a town with little to do and go on imagination-fueled adventures. The french fries they’ve purchased for the garbage gulls are spread on the ground, drizzled with ketchup, and the boys wait for the gulls to arrive. When the birds arrive, it is a feeding frenzy, and they seem to carry the car into the sky and above the treetops to The Sea. The brothers shed their socks and shoes to play in The Sea. When the afternoon is gone, the boys get back in the car and travel back to their town. The artwork is rendered with pencil crayons and graphite; the color scheme is infused with orange tones, lending warmth and happiness to the work. Overall, this work is a celebration of imagination, showcases independence in non-screen entertainment, and is a great glimpse of siblings on an adventure, without the bickering. The siblings appear white, and both have reddish hair in different textures; straight versus a curly mulletlike style.