I spy treasure by Vikki Marmaras and Binny Talib

A wonderful book introducing pirates and treasure will enthuse younger children as they read about the rollicking adventure, and scan the detailed illustrations.  Captain Snarkle Tooth arrives at Shimmertown again, convinced that there is treasure to be had. Billy watches the captain as he forages for any shiny things, the shimmering glass and shiny plastic that he finds on the beach.

Billy is puzzled and uses his binoculars to see what Captain Snarkle Tooth does with his collection. He sees a lamp made from bottles, a drum kit made from old large drums and saucepans and bottles, a sparkly chair made frrm forks and a flat iron griddle, a solar papered exercise bike, all made from the rubbish the captain has collected from their bay. Billy is enthused to try this out for himself and collects some of the captain’s left overs. He and his friends make a variety of things from the recycled rubbish: a walk talkie, a telescope, and a rocket ship. Soon the whole town has joined in making wind chimes, and flowerpots, bird feeders and candle holders. They are so busy they do not see that Captain Snarkle Tooth has returned. They brace themselves for his disapproval and are surprised when he congratulates them on reusing the shiny things in the bay to make treasure.

Kids will love to learn about how to recycle the many things our society discards and pore over the illustrations to see what can be made from rubbish.

No reader could avoid the lesson learnt by Shimmertown and cleaning up the bay becomes something they all achieve together.

This books offers a wonderful introduction to the theme of recycling as they see the difference between the old messy bay and the new. Author and illustrator make it clear just what can be made from recycled material, and children will be able to stretch their imaginations to add further ideas. Teacher notes are available.

Themes: Recycling, Reusing, Pirates, Rubbish, Waste, Pollution.

Fran Knight