• Bottle Houses: The Creative World of Grandma Prisbrey by Melissa Eskridge Slaymaker, illus. by Julie Paschkis. (2004) Ages 4-10
  The biography of Grandma Prisbey, who fashioned a village out of glass bottles rescued from a dump in California, offers a particularly creative example of the third "R"—reuse.
• The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong, illus. by David Roberts. (2007) Ages 4-8
  Steve entertains all the children in his apartment building by rummaging for treasures in the dumpster. He challenges the children to devise creative new uses for the discarded objects.
• Garbage Collectors by Paulette Bourgeois, illus. by Kim LeFave. (1991) Ages 4-10
  Combining an entertaining storyline with comprehensive information, this overview of waste management covers recycling, composting, dumps, landfills, and swap shops.
• Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck by Katie Clark. (2006) Ages 4-8
  This first book by an author from Brunswick features a plucky grandmother who saves the family garbage business. In the process, she becomes the spotlight of the Fourth of July parade.
• I Drive a Garbage Truck by Sarah Bridges. (2004) Ages 3-7
  A female truck driver describes her work and gives facts about garbage. An excellent example of a nonfiction title, complete with diagram, glossary, bibliography, and index.
• I Stink! by Kate McMullen, illus. by Jim McMullen. (2002) Ages 2-8
  A first-person narrative from a garbage truck that comes out at night to eat trash. Riddle format and use of vernacular language—along with some scatalogical humor!—has great kid appeal.
• Stop That Garbage Truck! by Linda Glaser, illus. by Karen Lee Schmidt. (1993) Ages 3-8
  Henry loves to greet the garbage collectors on his street, but he’s too shy to do more than wave—until the day his father forgets to take out the trash, and it’s up to Henry to hold the truck.
• The Tin Forest by Helen Ward, illus. by Wayne Anderson. (2001) Ages 4-10
  In this original fairy tale, an old man who lives in a dump dreams of bringing the wasteland that surrounds him back to life. He succeeds by planting a light bulb that grows into a lush forest.
• Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman, illus. by Dan Yaccarino. (1999) Ages 2-7
  This garbage route is propelled by a refrain: “Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO!” Illustrations are composed of colorful shapes and blocks.

        You can download the booklist as a pdf.