A Review of 'Join the No-Plastic Challenge: A First Book of Reducing Waste'

By Mary Moody

By Mary Moody

The Crosby, Stills, & Nash lyrics, “teach your children well,” came to mind when I purchased Join the No-Plastic Challenge by Scot Ritchie. Our children will inherit this earth, and we need to do everything we can to teach them that Earth is our home and deserves our protection.  

This illustrated book for children uses cartoons to explain how plastics are made, the good uses for plastic, and the harm caused by single-use plastics. The book’s birthday party theme illustrates simple changes we can make to reduce plastic waste.  For example, in the book, the children remember to bring their own water bottle, help their parents to remember reusable bags when shopping, and politely say, “No, thank you!” to straws and lids at restaurants.  

This book strives to educate children about the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.
It teaches children how the 3 Rs help to protect our wildlife and our food sources. Readers are also challenged to go a day without using any single-use plastics and to leave each place they visit cleaner than when they arrived.  This book may seem redundant to families already making plastic reduction a priority. However, other families might be inspired to reduce their plastic usage by practicing the thoughtful examples explained by Scot Ritchie. Adults can gain perspective as they teach their children about building a better world. And no time is better than childhood for learning the importance of the 3 Rs!