Book review: 'Kids vs. Plastic: Ditch the straw and find the pollution solution to bottles, bags, and other single-use plastics'

There's a lot of garbage in the world and plastic items don't deteriorate fast. Kids vs. Plastic: Ditch the straw and find the pollution solution to bottles, bags, and other single-use plastics is a book geared toward kids with many, many ideas of how they can help reduce waste.

In Kids vs. Plastic, anti-straw advocate Milo Cress tells his story about how, as a nine-year-old, he started encouraging companies to ask customers if they wanted straws, before just handing them out. I think that's a great idea and an easy one for businesses. By not handing out straws that weren't wanted, they saved money and the landfills were helped a bit by not having as much garbage thrown in them. Win, win for everyone!

Kids vs. Plastic has seven chapters ranging from teaching what plastic actually is, how it's made, the ways it was created, and why it doesn't biodegrade quickly. Huge numbers are shared, like how there are 480 billion single-use plastic bottles, EVERY YEAR, sold. Of course, beaches and oceans that are literally awash with plastic waste are talked about. Since this is National Geographic we're talking about, this book is replete with photos from microplastic waste to animals trapped in garbage to a huge warehouse full of plastic waste.

The book then goes on to teach about plastic alternatives and people throughout the world who have encouraged others to cut down on waste. There are a lot of suggestions regarding plastic alternatives. For instance, reusable mesh bags, instead of plastic ones, can be used for produce. Eating ice cream in a cone, instead of a cup, leaves less trash. Also, those who create art with plastic (something my kids looooove to do) is also shared, as well as a few craft how-tos. 

I really appreciate that this book isn't totally anti-plastic. There's a section that talks about the wonderful ways plastic has made lives better. Airbags, medical tubes, bike helmets, and epipens are all great examples of needed plastic. 

This book is heavily geared toward encouraging the use of less plastic and it tells a poignant story. While the book speaks of the good recycling plastic can do, it also tells the realities of what happens when recycling companies go out of business. 

I know there are many stories to be told, and that this book can't tell all of them, but I kept wondering why Boyan Slat wasn't mentioned. When he was only 18 he devised an incredible method of cleaning the ocean and rivers of plastic waste and went on to create an entire company built on his innovative inventions for doing so. I thought he would have been a shoe-in for a book like this. 

Kids vs. Plastic is a clean book with nothing offensive in it. There is a bit of a liberal slant in the writing, but the overall message of caring for the earth and not being wasteful is a good one.

Book Breakdown:

128  pages with full-color photography

Best for ages: 10-14

Educational factor: medium high

Moral content: I personally have friends who would say this book is a wonderful teaching tool. On the flip side, I also have others who would think it doesn't take into account the cost of replacing plastic with more expensive items. You'll most likely see what you want in this book.