STORYWRAPS: Talking trash today.....

Hello everyone and welcome. Today we are going to talk trash here... not that kind of trash...throw-away trash and how to deal with it. It is a major problem in our world and we must find ways to manage and deal with the huge amounts of waste that we disgard every day. Hope you stay around and check out the book I have on this theme today. First, let's discover the answer to yesterday's question that I posed. Who is the most famous kid's author and illustrator of all times?

Biggest and Best:

Beatrix Potter it is. Why were (and still are) her book so popular? Well for one she uses excellent vocabulary in them. Her narrative style of writing is heart-warming and also very funny. She has created loveable characters that live on in your mind and heart long after you close her books. Her illustrations are detailed and beautiful.

Here's today's book for you:

Title: The Bicycle Fence

Author: Tom Noll

Illustrator: Brandon Fall

*A Mom's Choice Award Gold winner for Children's Picture Books*

Take a peek inside:

My take on the book:

L.T. is a loveable little character who becomes a recycling super hero in our modern day world of glutted trash and junk. The desire of his heart is to have a new bicycle and together with his dad he gets just that. His dad persuades him to go with a refurbished model and they jump into his truck to head off to? where? ..... the local junkyard to do a scavenger hunt for parts that will be needed to fix up his old bike to make it workable and updated. L.T. is not too keen on shopping at the junkyard mall because what if his classmates laugh at his bike when he rides it too school and say it is a piece of junk and just isn't cool? Not to hurt his dad's feelings he works along with dad to re-design his bike but once it is up and running "like new" he still isn't satisfied. It is missing something. It needs an artistic shot of "cool." The idea's lightbulb switches on and L.T. decides to paint his bike white and even gives it its own name. He bestows the name "White Lightning" on it. He choses that name because his favourite teacher is Miss White and because lightning is very, very fast.... now that's cool.

He now feels proud of his new reformed bike and even takes his creativity one step farther. L.T. gathers up all the left over bikes and constructs a bike fence around his house, paints them all white, and voilá he has a very, unique conversation piece erected.

L.T. has learns that recycling, reusing, reinventing, repurposing, and recreating throw away items in a fun and practical way is way cool indeed!!

The illustrations are colourful, whimsical and very kid-friendly. The message of the book is positive , educational and most of all fun.....Tom Noll and Brandon Fall have put the "cool" back into recycling and encourages us to talk trash so we can save our world. How cool is that?

About the author and illustrator:

Think, Act, Live & Be Green For Our Future! Writer: Tom Noll, an artist, sculptor, landscape designer, advocate for going green; is a native of Somerset, Ohio. A first time writer who lives in Washington, D.C. and is affectionally known as "The White Bicycle Fence Man," in D.C. and Manassas, VA for his imaginative bicycle fences, that he decorates for major holidays. Illustrator: Brandon Fall, has always loved illustration since childhood. His illustrations and art work has appreared in numerous publications. He lives in California with his wife & children enjoying the outdoors.