Ok. I maybe 'should' rate this higher, because 'reuse' is a very important strategy for those of us concerned about Mother Nature.  But, personally, I didn't especially care for the pictures (though they were well suited for the story).  I do shop thrift, I do donate to thrift and to Freecycle, I do sometimes even steal from dumpsters or pick up from curbs.  But I cannot condone actually diving into the dumpster to the point where I need a team of kids to hose me and my 'treasures' down.  Iow, I don't identify exactly with either The Dumpster Diver or The Grouch.  I do find the ending of the book highly satisfying.  And I do recommend this to you if your library has it.  (But I don't think you'll read it enough times to justify buying it.) ( )

I used this book to supplement an art lesson I designed for a unit plan on inventions. The concept was to build something out of nothing and become an artistic inventor, this book basically embodies that. My lesson involved making art out of junk or trash. This book followed an almost identical course of action. It teaches students that you can find beauty in anything, even junk, and your imagination takes you far. I love having kids use their imagination. It may be uncomfortable at first but kids come up with some pretty amazing things when they let it go to work. ( )

The Dumpster Diver is a quick and enjoyable read about the woes of collecting used junk from dumpsters. The illustrations are done with watercolor and ink. The style is cute and surreal. It's creative way of teaching a moral about not playing in the garbage is useful in many ways. It teaches that other peoples junk can be re-purposed in fun and imaginative ways. Also though, that you can get hurt in dumpsters and it is better to help people remove the junk from their houses directly.
Purpose: Moral, Classroom Use: Art Class, creative mediums ( )

I swear this book was written about my dad. After reading it for the art critique assignment, I texted him and told him someone wrote a book about him. He jokingly wrote back that someone must have been following him all these years. My dad is an electrician. Counting me, he has three children. My dad loves using random things he finds around job sites to make creative, useful items. I really enjoyed this book and obviously related to it. But even without my personal connection, children can relate to this book too! The pictures are fun, the story is unique, and it reminds us all to be creative with our unwanted goods and recycle them into something new!

Good story for teaching kids about recycling. Steve and his young neighbors go diving for "buried treasure" in the dumpsters and turn what they find into something great. ( )