REVIEWS


proper disposal and safer alternatives. The lessons make use of product photographs to convey their messages. These lesson adap- tations are available from the King County website. Teachers in King County that take the


Hazards on the Homefront workshop are eligible to apply for mini-grants of up to $500 to support a classroom or school proj- ect related to the lessons in the guide. Ex- amples of projects include stenciling storm drains with Dump No Waste messages to protect lakes and streams, planting native gardens to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and weed killers, and teaching the community about green cleaning. The teachers that take the workshop and use the guide in their classroom are not only fulfi lling their academic learning and teaching goals, but are also further- ing awareness of the need to reduce the amount of hazardous waste, encourage the use of safer substitutes to hazardous prod- ucts, and properly dispose of the hazard- ous products they do use.


Donna Miscolta is program coordinator for the King County Solid Waste Division.


ply in our house and I like to think of it as literary decoration. It works for us though; I fi nd both kids sprawled in various rooms throughout the day with a pile of books next to them.


I fi rst stumbled across The Forever


Forest while browsing at the library on the never-ending search for books for my six year old animal loving kid. Upon fi rst glance, I thought this was just another book on the animals that live in the rain- forest but I knew he’d love it so I checked it out. It turned out to be so much more. Our favorite books are those that have combine beautiful artwork with interest- ing text...preferably where we learn a little something we didn’t know before. The Forever Forest did this beautifully. The sto- ry line follows a young boy and his mother as they visit Costa Rica and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest (commonly referred to as the BEN). Costa Rica’s rich and varied ecosystem is well depicted here, doing a beautiful job of transporting the readers to this lush rainforest. You can almost hear the Howler Monkey’s call.


The variety of animals and plants that thrive in Costa Rica are interesting and different enough to engage most readers, and each page highlights one or two mixed in with the story. The author has used the sidebars to give further information about each of those species. Every member of our family learned something new from these interesting bits. I really like that this information was presented near the refer- ences in the book so the kids had the visual to go along with the facts. Don’t think the learning opportunities end there, the back of the book is fi lled with the titles of other books to expand the lessons as well as a variety of websites to explore including the coordiates to fi nd the BEN on Google Earth.


The underlying messages of this book


The Forever Forest: Kids Save a Tropical Treasure


By Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafi ni with Rachel Crandell


Published by Dawn Publications Reviewed by Emily Baker LeRoux


A


s a home schooling mother of two, I have to admit I like books. I mean REALLY like books. They seem to multi-


CLEARING 2010


are of both of the importance of conser- vation and one of empowerment. The Children’s Eternal Rainforest (El Bosque Eterno de los Niño’s) is so named because a second grade class in Sweden saved it in 1987. While studying tropical rainforests the children learned about the challenges many forests face, competition for land, poachers, deforestation. They wanted to do something to make a difference, and they did, organizing a series of fund-rais- ers their goal to earn enough money to buy and protect 25 acres. The word traveled


www.clearingmagazine.org/online


quickly, inspiring other students to get involved. By the end of the fi rst year (with the help of matching funds by the Swed- ish Government) the students had raised $100,000 and it didn’t stop there. The movement continued to grow and children from over 44 countries became involved. So often in our culture, children especially feel like their voices and actions don’t matter. This book shows what a big difference a group of children can have not just in their own community, but in the world. We spent quite a bit of time talking about ways that our family could make a difference as a result of this book. It will become my go-to resource when I hear the echoes of “I can’t do it” creeping into the language of my children. I hope this book becomes an anchor book in children’s libraries everywhere. At less then $10 it would make a great gift for children in you lives and could be lovingly combined with a donation to a favorite organization. With all the issues facing this and coming gen- erations the engagement of our youth is of vast importance and this book brings that home. Kids really can change the world!


Emily Baker LeRoux is a homeschooling mother living in Maple Grove, Minnesota with her husband and two increasingly eco- literate children.


Flotsametrics and the Floating World:


How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science


By Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano


Published by Smithsonian Books/Harper Collins


Reviewed by Orlay Johnson I


f you would enjoy learning about the life and times of Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a UW graduate and Seattle oceanographer best known for tracking ocean currents using sneakers and bath toys lost, then sit back and enjoy. Flotsametrics, is co-written by Dr. Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano, a local science writer. It is a fun read, with plenty of oceano- graphic insights, some very personal expe- riences and a glimpse into the very “way out” thinking that allowed Ebbesmeyer to


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