
Written by N. M. Bodecker · Illustrated by Erik Blegvad
Leftover picnic trash brings disaster to a tiny community of insects, who must turn it around.
When picnickers leave their trash behind in the grass, it lands on the Mushroom Center, home to Beetle and his small neighbors, and causes chaos. Instead of despairing, Beetle and his friends work together on a plan to turn the garbage into something useful. A gentle cautionary tale about littering, recycling and community, first published in 1974.
N. M. Bodecker pens a "brief cautionary tale" that is "ahead of its time" as he warns readers of the dangers of litter through havoc wrecked on a mushroom community by the remains of a picnic (Publishers Weekly). Though a little bit of trash leftover from a picnic might not seem too bad to many, it was the beginning of a disaster for The Mushroom Center. Coming together to help their neighbors in the grass, Beetle and his friends devise a plan to turn bad fortune into progress. Important and timely issues of littering and recycling, as well as cooperative community-building are illuminated by Bodecker and Blegvad's imaginations on the pages of The Mushroom Center Disaster. With a glorious sense of balance for the absurd and the just, this endearing picture book shares firsthand knowledge of country living and environment preservation.
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