An Earth-Bot's Solution to Plastic Pollution

August 1, 2021
A young Earth-Bot wakes up to ocean plastic pollution. Neo and his grandfather, both Earth-Bots, live at the ocean's edge. Both have round, cartoon faces and matter-of-factly wear spacesuit helmets throughout. Grandpa instructs Neo to clean his plastic-infested room, but Neo fixates on video games. After Grandpa heads out for the day, Neo's blissful gaming session is repeatedly interrupted. First a seal and later a penguin and a turtle implore Neo to help clean up the plastic pollution in the neighboring ocean. Neo initially insists he is too busy protecting the planet within his video game, but eventually he helps the animals. Spare illustrations are placed on blue or white backgrounds, with thin black outlines around characters and objects. A neat grid of plastic bottles outlined in white overlays ocean scenes, demonstrating the problem's scale. However, the illustrations' minimalism works against the story's overall effectiveness; when Neo is confronted by the ocean's mess, his facial expression doesn't noticeably signal alarm. Neo's video game strategies come in handy when he assesses that the plastic-pollution issue cannot be solved by one person alone, a detail that saves the story from a video games-are-negative binary but not from a sense that it's basically treading water. A concluding note promotes personal actions with an emphasis on reducing initial plastics consumption instead of leaning on recycling as a single solution. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A recycled storyline without enough twists to feel new. (Picture book. 4-7)

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October 1, 2021

K-Gr 3-In this allegorical tale, plastic mess is a problem Neo is keen to ignore in favor of playing Space Cabbages. His only hope of victory is joining forces with Earth-bots to overwhelm the aliens in an onslaught of leafy missiles. Neo's attention cannot be diverted from his game despite the pleas of several ocean-dwelling critters looking for help with the plastic pollution problem. Unfortunately, this title struggles to land in concept and design. The digital illustrations feature some objects and characters that are stylized beyond recognition, and the linear patterning of the plastic bottles is not easily interpreted as pollution. The video game premise feels dated; the parallels Ayto attempts to draw between video game and pollution will not resonate with the modern gamer. VERDICT Though it has the best of intentions, this call-to-arms title doesn't pack the punch it needs to inspire today's youth to take up the cause. An additional purchase for those seeking to bolster their environmental sciences collections.-Sarah Simpson, Westerville P.L., OH

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