Zero Waste Kids

A spectacular book packed to the brim with eco-friendly crafts and activities for rainy and sunny days to inspire young naturalists and conservationists. Simple activities range from building ones own birdhouse and making simple, biodegradable bird feeders to crafting ones own paper, cards, gift wrap and so much more. Activities and lifestyle change tips list are kid-friendly, easy to follow, and truly zero waste! A great book to check out for Earth Day or any day. Perfect for homeschoolers looking to connect the arts with science, culinary skills, woodworking, etc. Helpful index at the end makes finding activities again simple and quick.

Overall impressions
A+ for effort in terms of diversity and inclusion. The illustrations throughout the book are awesome. It features kids of a variety of races/ethnicities. It also features kids of all abilities. For example, the cover shows someone using a manual wheelchair. Section 1 of the book features someone with what appears to be a cochlear implant.

The book covers numerous ways that people of all ages can work to reduce their waste. It is divided up into 6 sections (described below). Then, at the end of the book there are “50 kid-friendly changes to launch your zero-waste life” which seem practical and manageable. I will say though that the title of the book is a little misleading because many of the activities require either adult help/supervision or at the very least adult approval. But I think this book would help prompt tons of good conversations among families. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to encourage a kid in their life to be more environmentally conscious.

Section by section breakdown
Section 1 (crafts)
I was excited to see this section because crafts are my thing. But to be honest, out of the nine craft activities included, I feel like only two of them are really that practical / doable for kids. Maybe I am underestimating what kids are interested in and able to do on their own. Making confetti out of fallen leaves is a neat and unique idea. Making a bag out of an old T-shirt also seems like a good option for kids. The rest of the crafts require more extensive equipment and tools.

Section 2 (food)
The main thing I got out this section was the idea of using reusable bags when packing a school lunch or going to the grocery store.

Section 3 (gardening and composting)
I like the activities described in this section because they can be completed by kids/families living in a variety of settings: from creating a windowsill garden in a high rise city apartment, a raised garden in your suburban backyard, or inspiring a family to creating a mini farm if they have lots of land. The idea of creating a bee hotel or a bird house is super cool. These activities will almost certainly require help from an adult though since they involve power tools.

Section 4 (nature)
Section 4 contains activities that can be done both individually or as a group. These include simply being in and appreciating nature, picking up litter or creating a community garden.

Section 5 (zero waste activities)
Section 5 of the book talks about other ways kids (and adults) can reduce waste. I especially like the reusable zero waste travel kit idea. There are also some cute ideas for having a zero (or lower) waste party. This includes giving seeds or reusable straws as party favors.

Section 6 (activism and making a difference in your community)
This final section talks about ways kids can inspire change in their family, friends and their community. It describes creating signs talking about recycling that could be hung around their school for example. Or the idea of having a used school supply drive or a clothing swap event.

Kids are the future. As simple as that. If we truly want to see meaningful change in our world, we need to start with our youth. Education is the key and making our children aware of the problems we are facing as a society but most importantly the solutions for these problems, will be what will create the biggest impact in our world.

I cannot recommend this book enough, it's completely different to anything I have encountered before as an educator and a mom. I would recommend this for either home or school for parents to use with their kids and/or for teachers to use in their classrooms. I loved the illustrations and the activities and instructions were very easy to read and follow, even for the younger learners.

I enjoyed how this book and activities were divided and how different some of them were, some being new to me.

Perfect addition to personal and school libraries and a great way to help create some conscience and care and celebrate Earth.

Very good information, presented in a way that is easily digestible for kids. I was impressed by the interactive portions of the book and think that a lot of young readers will be interested in that content. Would recommend to parents, teachers, or as a good addition to children’s collections.

This was the last book that I read in 2021, and what a way to end the year!

I’m impressed that such a comprehensive book about zero waste has been published for kids. This publication opens with an introduction in which Greenfield explains the purpose of the book, the contents, and his hopes for the reader. The introduction might be too difficult for some young readers as the reading level (Lexile, for example) might be too high. This possible problem could be solved by having a stronger reader read the introduction with the youngster(s). Buddy reading it or reading it as a group is how I would recommend reading it because it would provide a great opportunity for meaningful conversations to develop.

After the introduction, there are six sections: Crafts, Food, Gardening, Nature, Zero-waste Activities, and Activism and Making a Difference in Your Community. At the end of the book, the author includes a list of 50 “kid-friendly changes to launch [their] zero-waste life”.

I love that the book is inclusive. The illustrations include kids from various racial backgrounds and also kids with different abilities. It’s SO important for kids to see the reality and the normalcy of diversity. I wish that I’d been able to have a book with this kind of diversity when I was younger!

Now, for the moment I’ve been waiting for: talking content. The content is fantastic! I don’t always love that many of the activities require the help of an adult as I feel that these activities would be best if they are, again, done with peers (I get the impression that that’s what Greenfield intends as well). But overall, these activities seem easy, useful, practical and fun! I say “seem” as I haven’t tried one yet…But I plan to! Many of the activities could be done by people of all ages. I will be putting this book on my “To Purchase” list not only as a book for my own library but also as one for my friends’ kids! I can’t wait to try out the following activities: Make Your Own Recycled Paper, Creating Napkins Out of T-shirts, Make Paper Seed Cards, Make a Bag For Almost Anything, Make Wax Food Wraps, Build a Bee Hotel, Make Your Own Seed Balls, Conduct a Trash Audit, Create a Zero-waste Home, and Have a Clothing Swap (done this one before and LOVED it!!!).

I felt inspired after reading this—especially since before reading this, my partner and I had decided that in 2022 we have to do five things to create less waste. I now have MANY ideas and feel that I could find more than five things to do in order to be a better environmental activist and warrior (I love that term!). I’m also armed with fun knowledge that I can share with others, especially young people.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Quarry Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Zero Waste Kids is a wonderful compendium of the individual actions we can take to support environmentalism and help the planet. It features educational information and projects for kids to reuse items and save resources. A wonderful resource for children to understand how their actions can help minimize their carbon footprint.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was full of great ideas for helping children to learn about zero waste living. I found it very helpful