What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?: A Green Activity Book About Reuse

by Anna Alter

What can Ruby do with her old red shoe? Use it as a planter for pansies! In this “green” craft book, children can appreciate that recycling is a part of everyday life, and with a little creativity, exciting projects are only a few steps away. Turn a worn flip-flop into an art stamp, a ripped shower curtain into an apron, and an old T-shirt into a pillow. These activities are just a few of the many crafts to be explored. With easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, this interactive book will challenge kids to come up with clever recycling ideas of their own.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Crafts, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2009

About the author

Hello!

Thanks for visiting me on goodreads.

Please visit my web site or blog to learn more about my work!

Cheers,
Anna

Reviews

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recycling is big. As it should be. This is a book filled with ideas of how to reuse items that are generally thrown away, including a flip-flop, tin cans, old crayons, wrapping paper, toys, and, from the title, old red shoes.

The directions are clear and easy to follow. The end products are good choices for children, including stamps, new crayons, planters, and candles.

One bit from the book:

"What Can You Do With a Flip-Flop?

1. First, Sarah cleans the sand and dirt off her flip-flop and cuts the foot straps halfway down.
2. Then, she turns it over, centers the cookie cutter where the top strap intersects the bottom of the shoe, and traces the shape using the marker.
3. Next, her mom uses scissors to help her cut out the shape she traced.
4. When they are finished cutting, Sarah paints the bottom of her flip-flop and presses it onto a piece of paper.
Now Sarah has a new stamp for making art!"


There are additional tips for reusing and recycling items in the back of the book.

Each suggestion is featured with a short poem that leads into the project. All the pages are heavily illustrated to make clear the steps of the process.

This book would be great as a lead into a lesson about how to recycle.

[Emmeline Guest · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect blend of storybook style illustrations and craft book - this book truly encourages young readers to be green (or at least craft green).

Would work wonderfully in a preschool (possibly older) environmental unit, and is great for parents interested in teaching their children to reuse and recycle.

And - the craft projects are simple and fun! My four year old son and I quickly made our old yellow flip flop into a carrot stamp (and stamped the night away!).

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great projects; easy-to-follow instructions; good tips on hand-sewing and reusing/recycling in the back. I'm not sure about how this book is presented to its intended audience, though. The cutesy rhymes and illustrations seem to be to young for the crowd that will actually be attempting these projects.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple pictures and easy activities for kids. Repurposed art is very cool. We are planning to do lots of it this summer for the Be Creative theme.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about recycling with projects and how-to's in an appealing format.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book of crafts that you can make with old, even worn out items. A great way to show children ideas for reusing and recycling items.

[Hilary]

Recommended at the BYU Symposium.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute - should definitely be on book lists for this summer.

[Elynn]

A clever activity/craft book using recyclable materials

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Activities including how to reuse many household items.

[Torrance Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why throw something away when it can be remade into a work of art! This book inspires artists young and old to find the artistic potential in the every day.

[Mitran Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about reusing.

[Anne Beier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for recycling old items into crafts.

[Sarah Beattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards the book has received:
No awards received.

Appropriate Grade Level:
1st-3rd Grade

Original Summary:
This is an activity book that teaches children how to reuse and recycle common old items into new useful items. For example, an old red shoe is suggested to be used as a plant holder or a ripped shower curtain is transformed into a new apron. There are step by step instructions on how to perform each craft, along with a list of materials needed and illustrations drawn as well.

Original Review:
This book is really easy to follow, and I love how interactive it can be for students. It also teaches a wonderful life moral of being creative and conscious of reusing old items to make fun, new ones. I also enjoy how each activity has an illustrated character to go along with it in order to model each step in the craft, so children may be more interested visually.

Possible In-Class Use:
This would be a wonderful book to send home with kids over long weekends in order to promote parental involvement. These crafts could be used for a science fair, sustainability fair, or even as a way to promote waste consciousness during Earth Day.