About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
Humans have always generated garbage, whether it’s a chewed-on bone or a broken cell phone.
Our landfills are overflowing, but with some creative thinking, stuff we once threw away can become a collection of valuable resources just waiting to be harvested. Trash Talk digs deep into the history of garbage, from Minoan trash pits to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and uncovers some of the many innovative ways people all over the world are dealing with waste.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 9 to 12
- Grade:
- 4 to 7
- Reading age:
- 9 to 12
Awards
- Commended, BC Books for BC Schools
- , Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards
- Short-listed, Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award
- Short-listed, Canadian Library Association (CLA) Book of the Year for Children
- Commended, Northland College Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Awards (SONWA) - Young Adult
- , Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award
- , American Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS)/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books
Editorial Reviews
"Mulder tells the garbage story in clean and engrossing prose, complemented by stock artwork and photographs...Mulder provides all sorts of alternatives to incineration, landfills and ocean dumping...Enclosed in these pages is plenty of food for thought and examples for direct action."
— Kirkus Reviews
"The text is written in a conversational style which will appeal to readers. 'Trash Facts' provide additional trivia while colour photographs, perfectly suited to the text, add to the reader’s understanding of the concepts presented...An interesting, thought-provoking book that might inspire some readers to spark some environmental initiatives of their own. Highly Recommended."
— CM Magazine
"I look forward with great anticipation to each new Orca Footprints [title]. They have been beautifully designed, well researched and blessed with terrific writing. This one is no exception...[Mulder] includes personal observations and anecdotes from her travels and from her life in Victoria today to make us cognizant of simple solutions to some of the ways in which we dispose of unwanted and unneeded objects. The 'Trash Facts' are interesting and inspiring. A wealth of impressive color photos, a table of contents, an index and a list of additional books, movies and websites add to the appeal and to the value."
— Sal's Fiction Addiction blog
"Although the problem is huge, the author writes in a positive and upbeat style and encourages readers to be creative in thinking of solutions. The book is illustrated with many, high quality, colour photographs. There are references to other current resources, including movies and websites, for further study."
— Resource Links
"There is a nice balance of text and vibrant photos; content is a blend of scientific fact with historical and anecdotal vignettes so that adolescents can relate to the issues while contributing to a solution. Mulder presents an array of solutions, along with several examples of innovative projects demonstrating recycling, reusing, and composting. Due to the relevancy of the topic and clear message to modern teens and pre-teens, this is a valuable purchase for most youth collections."
— School Library Connection
"Mulder focuses not only on reducing consumption but also on how we can recoup some of the energy and resources that are thrown away. Ingenious ideas like insulating homes with jeans or weaving old fishing nets into carpeting are just a couple ideas that will spark readers’ imaginations. With full-color photos of kids in action and startling but fascinating trivia about how much trash the world’s population produces, this offers a very compelling argument for conservation."
— Booklist
"Both a history of trash and a manual of its elimination (or diminution, at least), this nifty book covers a variety of topics...Employing readable language, Mulder chronicles the development of garbage disposal and goes on to castigate our throw-it-away-and-buy-a-new-one way of thinking...Colorful photos record garbage issues around the world and innovative solutions to cope with this mountainous problem...An informative call to action for young greenies."
— School Library Journal
"[An] important title on how to value our environment."
— Coombs Report Summer Reading List for Kids
