I love Meghan McCarthy’s new book, All That Trash. It’s about the 1987 New York garbage barge scandal. That year, a barge full of garbage floated around the Atlantic Ocean, looking for a place to dump it. Eventually, it ended up back where it started, but in the process it illuminated for the entire nation both how much garbage we produce and also what a huge disposal problem we have.

The story is complicated. It involves lots of people and lots of places. McCarthy doesn’t shy away from the complex, though. She introduces us to many, many people–politicans, businessmen, workers on the barge, reporters–and we hear their voices. But she ingeniously helps us keep them straight by creating tiny portraits of each person, captioned with name and title, to stand next to voice bubbles with what they had to say. The portraits are drawn with her familiar wit. I especially loved that the recurring portrait of the captain of the barge always appears in a cloud of flies. She uses a map to help us keep track of where the barge goes.

The story is compelling and she keeps us moving through it with really effective page layouts and page turns. I especially loved the page where she recreates the photo of the Greenpeace protest–a huge banner unfurled on the barge, which says, “Next Time…Try Recycling.”

The back matter gives even more detail about the story of the barge (the Mob’s involvement!) as well as information about how much garbage we produce as a nation today. A photo essay shows useful and beautiful items built of recycled garbage, an inspiring prompt for kids to be inventive.

All that Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff by Meghan McCarthy. Paula Wiseman: 2018.

Alyson Beecher hosts the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge at kidlitfrenzy.com. Visit there for more great nonfiction picture books!