When Jo is slow to take out the trash one evening, the garbage comes to life and hauls her outside instead. The beast threatens mayhem throughout the neighborhood, but Jo is undaunted. She plucks him limb from limb, finding another use for his cardboard head, fibrous fanny, and other various parts. By the time she is done, Jo sees how recycling can be a resourceful way to put the beast back in his place-and make an unpleasant chore more fun. This book brings to life the benefits of recycling and the hazards of a wasteful attitude.
Joni Sensel grew up near Tacoma, WA, where she memorized Dr. Seuss stories and then began creating her own. This early training and a conviction that 'things are not what they seem' drew her to writing fantasy, including the three books of the Farwalker trilogy -- The Farwalker's Quest, The Timekeeper's Moon (Bloomsbury), and The Skeleton's Knife -- plus The Humming of Numbers (Holt) and Reality Leak (Holt). These books have been recognized as a Bank Street Best Book, a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Cybils Award finalist, a Crystal Kite finalist, and a nominee for the Missouri Truman Award.
A full-time freelance writer, Joni has also published two picture books, one of which earned a 2001 Henry Bergh Children's Book Honor from the ASPCA. She lives on the only paved street in a tiny community at the knees of Mt. Rainier in Washington State. Find her on Facebook as well as at www.jonisensel.com.
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
