Winter, Jonah. Here Comes the Garbage Barge. Illustrated by Red Nose Studio. Schwartz and Wade Books, 2010. 32 pages. PLB $17.99, 978-0-375-85218-3
"Garbage. Big, heaping, stinking mounds of garbage." Children will immediately be drawn in by the absurdity of this true story about the ill-fated journey of Long Island's garbage barge, a boat full of 3,168 tons of garbage. Jonah Winter's fictionalized version of the story stars Cap'm Duffy as he navigates from port to port attempting to pawn off Islip's garbage on towns up and down the eastern seaboard. News quickly spreads, and the barge is unable to dock for 162 days, eventually returning whence it came to incinerate the garbage in Brooklyn.
The writing is uneven when the narration becomes overly familiar- phrases like "see, this guy..." and "Clever, huh?" are an attempt at developing a New York voice that seem out of place in the rest of the book. Red Nose Studio's innovative photographs are composed using mixed media puppetry in theatrical scenes. The attention to detail and expressive, sometimes comical faces make the book visually rich. However, the double-breasted suits, Italian names, accented speech, and shadiness of Mr. Stroffolino's character are obvious stereotypes. Likewise the depiction of Mexicans and Belizeans as militants demonstrates questionable cultural sensitivity and expertise. This weakens the impact of Winter’s ultimate message- don’t make so much garbage.
The informative author's note adds much to the value of the book, but is structurally misplaced at the beginning. Readers turning the last page are left with an impression of the Cap'm sailing towards home leaving the focus on his individual experience. Teachers and parents would do well to turn back to the author's note at the end to discuss the impact of the garbage barge fiasco on Islip's recycling and waste-to-energy initiatives.
