CLIP Review: Bag in the Wind

Author: Ted Kooser
Illustrator: Barry Root

March is known for its windy days, which may cause what's left of the leaves to blow furiously about, or make us scurry swiftly to our cars to avoid having our hair blown everywhere.  March winds are known to bring squeals of glee in kids of all ages who delight in tackling the breezes at attempting to fly a kite. And yet, because of our carelessness, these same winds also scatter litter and trash we have carelessly discarded over our roads and countrysides. 


This is the story of one such gust of wind. It began one cold morning in early spring, when a bulldozer pushed a pile of garbage around a landfill and unearthed an empty plastic bag - just the color of the skin of a yellow onion. It had two holes for handles, and even though it was a perfectly good bag, someone had thrown it away. Throughout the day the bag somersaults across fields, slips through fences and tugs itself past tree branches. And then along comes Margaret, bundled up against the cold, her pockets full of crushed aluminum cans. Delighted at finding the bag hooked on a fence, she empties her pockets and continues picking up more cans. She's hoping to save enough for something special. Will she have enough after turning  in her cans?  However, the story of the little bag doesn't end when Margaret turns in her cans. It has quite a few more adventures. You might be surprised with all the twists and turns our little Bag in the Wind takes...and where it ends up!
                                                                                        Suggested Age: 6 - 9 years


CLIP Questions:
1.  What are some ways in which littering can harm animals?
2.  Plastic bags can be reused in your home. List some ways before you read the last
     pages of the book. Did you think of some that weren't listed?


Americans use 100 billion plastic shopping bags every year; which means each of us uses between 350 and 500 bags per year. Because landfills pile garbage very deep, it takes many years for these plastic bags to decompose. Also, many bags fly around and become a danger to animals who mistake them for food or become entangled in them. 
                                                     

Here are some useful resources:

www.plasticbagrecycling.org

www.onebagatatime.com