Michael Recycle and the Tree Top Cops by Ellie Patterson and Alexandra Colombo

Michael Recycle, Environmental Super Hero, is ready for a vacation. But where will he and his trusty sidekick, Tin Can Stan, go on holiday? They decide on a beautiful Redwood forest but quickly discover a terrible foe: deforestation! Fashion queens Celine and Delphine are chopping down the forest to make paper for their magazines. It's up to Michael Recycle to show them the error of their ways and save the trees!

Environmental picture books for kids have really found an audience in the last several years as parents and teachers are looking for fun ways to get messages about social responsibility out early. I was afraid that a book with a character named "Michael Recycle" would be a bit too much of  a 'lesson' for me, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. Yes, Michael Recycle is passionate about treating the earth with respect and saving the environment, but there's also humour in the text and illustrations that softens the message without diluting it. I did pause a bit at the idea of magazine paper being the thing to fight against (shouldn't the publishing world stick together?) but was pleased to see how it was resolved (by promoting environmentally sound business practices).

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley courtesy of IDW Publishing.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel
Redwoods by Jason Chin
All the World by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon