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Total Garbage

A Messy Dive into Trash, Waste, and Our World
By Rebecca Donnelly
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Brief Description
Trash has been part of human societies since the beginning. It seems like the inevitable end to the process of making and using things, but why? Rebecca Donnelly wades into the muck of history and explores present-day innovations to answer some basic questions: Why do we... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1700
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This children's narrative nonfiction from Rebecca Donnelly dives into the scientific and cultural history of the waste humans produce.

This middle-grade narrative nonfiction from Rebecca Donnelly dives into the scientific and cultural history of the waste humans produce.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Trash has been part of human societies since the beginning. It seems like the inevitable end to the process of making and using things, but why? Rebecca Donnelly wades into the muck of history and explores present-day innovations to answer some basic questions: Why do we make so much trash? Why are we so bad at handling it? How can we stop it (that is, us) from ruining the planet?

She also looks into the out-there trash phenomena like the fatberg—a sewer-clogging floater of congealed cooking grease, baby wipes, and miscellaneous other flushed items. The current record holder for size: 800 feet long and 143 tons!

Godwin Books

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781250411051

Publisher: Palgrave USA

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 April 2026

Country: United States

Imprint: Square Fish

Illustration: Black-and-white illustrations

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by John Hendrix

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 233.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 160

Collections

Children's Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Rebecca Donnelly

About the Author

Rebecca Donnelly is the author of many best-loved books for children, including Cats Are a Liquid (nominated for the Mewbery Award), How Slippery Is a Banana Peel?, and Super Spaghetti. Her debut middle-grade novel, How to Stage a Catastrophe, was an Indies Introduce/Kids' Indie Next pick. Rebecca lives in and writes from upstate New York. rebeccadonnellywrites.com John Hendrix is a New York Times bestselling illustrator and the author of many children's books, including Shooting at the Stars, Drawing Is Magic, and John Brown: His Fight for Freedom. johnhendrix.com

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