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Bag in the Wind    by Ted Kooser & Barry Root Amazon.com order for
Bag in the Wind
by Ted Kooser
Order:  USA  Can
Candlewick, 2010 (2010)
Hardcover

Read an Excerpt

* * *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Have you ever wondered what happens to a plastic grocery bag when you throw it away? Well, I'm a plastic bag and in this picture book you're going to discover what happened to me after I was sent to the landfill.

Although I was supposed to be covered up with all the other trash dumped at the landfill, the tractor operator who was pushing dirt on top of all the newly arrived garbage did a sloppy job. A gust of wind caught me up and blew me toward the dump's chain link fence before I was buried.

I was smooshed against the fence for a while and then another gust blew me right over the top and I was free. As you will see, this is when my adventure really begins. You'll follow along as I get caught up in a tree for a while, and then get snagged on a wire fence before a little girl rescues me.

The child places aluminum cans she is collecting in me and then I end up with the lady who buys the cans from her. That's not the end of my journey, though. Once again the wind sends me on my way when the lady puts me outside with some other bags.

After a dip in a creek and other weird experiences, I am captured by a man who collects old plastic bags and then sells them to thrift shops. It is here that the little girl I met before re-enters my strange story.

When you read how I am bounced and blown from one place to another, I think you'll get the message of this tale. The author, who is a famous poet, wants to encourage young people to reuse and recycle things like plastic bags. He hopes that after you follow my strange odyssey you'll get the idea that recycling is a good idea. Actually, I think that's a splendid thing to do too!

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