No More Plastic
No More Plastic
Isley could never forget. There were reminders all around her.
Isley combed the beach, gathering up all the reminders, day after day, week after week, and month after month…
…until Isley had enough to build a sculpture as big as a whale.
Isley is a young girl who loves her seaside life until a whale dies after swallowing plastic. Isley vows to change and stop using plastic and encourages others to do the same. At first, people reduce their plastic use, but then they slowly go back to their old habits because it is just easier. Isley gathers the plastic that washes up on the beach and builds a whale sculpture out of it to make everyone think about their routines and habits.
Written and illustrated by Alma Fullerton, No More Plastic shows young readers the consequences of the waste our society produces. The story is fictional, but it reads more like a nonfiction book. Whales and other marine animals around the world are dying because of plastic waste in the ocean, waste which can also wash up on beaches.
Although the story itself is short and simple, it has a large impact. Every reader can imagine how big a whale is and start to think about how many pieces of plastic would be required to build a life-size sculpture of a whale. This example really puts into perspective how much plastic we use and how much ends up in the ocean. At the end of the book, Alma Fullerton includes some steps children and their families can take to reduce plastic waste.
The illustrations are excellent and are both visually and environmentally appropriate for the story. The illustrations, built of repurposed plastic, plus some sand and moss, add an extra element of realism and make the illustrations very eye-catching. The illustrations can tell the story even without most of the text.
No More Plastic is an excellent story for young readers about how our small actions can have large consequences and about how we can change our actions and habits to bring about more positive outcomes.
Daphne Hamilton-Nagorsen is a graduate of the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.