GLAMOROUS GARBAGE

Can collecting other people’s castoffs really help Bobbie transform her cluttered room, or will it just makes things messier?

Joanie, Bobbie’s cousin, doesn’t see how Bobbie can live amid the mess, and Bobbie’s mother agrees, setting a two-week deadline for the cleanup. Bobbie has no problem coming up with a poster of ideas for a glamorous big-kid bedroom, but the family budget’s empty. What’s a girl to do? Reuse other people’s junk, collected from yard sales and the Swap Shed at the town dump, of course. But with just a few days left and a room more cluttered than ever, Bobbie has to admit to her mother that she needs help making a start. For several days they work to weed out, clean up and then remake all the things Bobbie brought home, putting them back together in new ways to create furnishings that match her personality. While the text can be a bit wooden at times, Newman’s mixed-media illustrations are bright with crisp details, which can make Bobbie’s messy room seem especially overwhelming—and her new room seem all the more “glamorous.” And there are some good ideas here for kids who need help sorting items into keep-it, fix-it-up and time-to-go piles.

The story is likely to spark ideas for kids longing for room overhauls of their own.