Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
    Unavailable
    One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
    Unavailable
    One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
    Ebook44 pages10 minutes

    One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

    By Miranda Paul and Elizabeth Zunon

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead

    About this ebook

    The inspiring true story of how one African woman began a movement to recycle the plastic bags that were polluting her community.
    Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.
    The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.
    Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLerner Publishing
    Release dateFeb 1, 2015
    ISBN9781467762991
    Author

    Miranda Paul

    Miranda Paul is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for children, including Right Now!, illustrated by Bea Jackson, Speak Up, illustrated by Ebony Glenn, and Little Libraries, Big Heroes, illustrated by John Parra. She is a founding member of the organization We Need Diverse Books, and lives with her family in Green Bay, Wisconsin. www.mirandapaul.com Twitter: @Miranda_Paul

    Related to One Plastic Bag

    Children's For You

    View More
    View More

    Reviews for One Plastic Bag

    4.5/5

    63 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This books tells the story of one woman's efforts to recycle plastic bags and the impact it has on her town and its people. Isatou Ceesay grows up in Njau, Gambia and becomes aware of the impact that plastic bags have on her small village. These bags litter the streets, cause goats to get sick from eating them, and they are home to mosquitos that cause malaria.As an adult, Isatou and her friends begin to wash the bags, cut them into strips, and crochet them into purses. At first they do this in hiding because others would mock them. Later, Isatou and her friends take these purses to market and sell them. This helps to clean the streets of her village and provide her with money from the sale of her wares. Through the author's note and the timeline provided at the end of the book we learn more about Isatou and her work with the Peace Corps and the Njau Recycling and Income Generating Group. This is a wonderfully empowering tale for women.
    • 4/5
      empowerment; recycling
    • 5/5
      ONE PLASTIC BAG tells the true story of Isatou, a Gambian woman who tackled the problem of plastic trash in her community by organizing women to recycle plastic bags into woven purses. Not only did she clean up her community and save goats from eating plastic, but she also empowered the women in her village.The story is told simply and lyrically. One of my favorite refrains that shows up in different variations, goes like this: “One plastic bag becomes two. Then ten. Then a hundred.” The repetition of this evocative phrase in different settings reinforces a central theme of the story – the actions of one person can multiply and reverberate well beyond themselves.The illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon are striking with a strong graphic sense. She creates bright and warm collages from plastic bags, African patterned cloths, photographs, and painted surfaces.
    • 4/5
      An inspiring true story of a Gambian woman who tackled the problem of plastic trash in her community by organizing women to recycle plastic bags into woven purses.
    • 5/5
      A true story of an empowered woman who chose to fix a real problem in her community. Isatou Ceesay noticed plastic bags accumulating in her town in Garmbia. The plastic was useful, but it didn't degrade after people were done with it and soon one plastic bag became a many discarded plastic bags causing many issues. Isatou decides to solve the problem by recycling the bags into something new.An inspirational story with a strong message that can empower kids to solve a problem in their own community. The writing is simple, but with a strong message of how something small can build exponentially. Isatou's character shows determination and insight. The setting is brought out through the colorful and graphic illustrations. This is a great book for any classroom, especially if you wanted to try your own plastic crochet.This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I've been reading more children's books this year and some of them have made me miss teaching English. This is one of those books--what a great story about a group of people who saw a problem and made a plan to fix it. Would totally use this book to launch a research project unit. Loved the resources at the end of the book to learn more about different regions of Africa.
    • 4/5
      Paul's story about Isatou Ceesay focuses on environmental activism, and how a group of women begin a recycling program for plastic bags in the Gambia. It also introduces the concept of what is biodegradable and what it not. I liked the amount of descriptive words used in the story. The book could be used to teach children about recycling and what they can do in their own communities