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Junkyard    by Mike Austin Amazon.com order for
Junkyard
by Mike Austin
Order:  USA  Can
Beach Lane, 2014 (2014)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

It is a daunting task but the two robots in this picture book are up to it. Together they will munch, crunch, chew and chomp their way through piles of trash and all sorts of large items, from rusty school buses and miles of tangled wires to jelly jars and messy mounds of shopping carts. In fact, there's even toxic waste and the robots will slurp that terrible mixture up too.

As you'll discover, though, that's just half the job. Once they 'sweep the yard clean from the front to the back until all that remains is one little stack of bubble gum wrappers and a toy train track' (which they dispose of too!), the robots start the reclamation of the area.

Now the really fun stuff begins. There are hundreds of trees to plant, a playground to create, a lake to dig for sailing and swimming, and an area for biking and hiking to make. Finally, after planting a garden, the robots are ready to open the new area so everyone can enjoy this natural, reclaimed wonderland.

Mike Austin shows that with a little effort even a Super Fund site can be fashioned into something useful that will benefit everyone. Of course the stars of this show are the robots who make all this possible.

Excellent illustrations picture the whole process from start to finish and children four and older will love watching the robots do their thing!

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