WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN OLD RED SHOE?

What can be done with an unmatched flip-flop, a raggedy T-shirt and an old tin can? In Alter’s hands, they become rubber stamps, a new pillow and a lantern. Rhyming poems introduce readers to a cast of 12 animal children, each with a solid-waster problem. Their solutions reuse common household materials that would ordinarily be thrown away. Ruby turns the titular shoe into a planter, Trina melts old crayons to form new ones and Jon makes a perpetual calendar out of an outdated one. A little heavy in the adult-assistance–required department (eight of the 12), this is more of a family-project/learn-about-recycling book. Backmatter includes instructions on sewing stitches and more ideas on how to reduce, reuse and recycle. While the acrylic paintings’ anthropomorphized critters lack a lot of facial expression, they do effectively show readers step-by-step how to complete each project. Overall, the package lacks the pizzazz that will truly get kids excited about the projects or the science that will compel them to recycle. (Informational picture book. 7-10)