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

When Isatou Ceesay first noticed a piece of silky fabric on the ground in her Gambian community, she wasn’t sure what it was. “Plastic,” her Grandmother explains with a frown. Soon there is more. The bags are convenient but people discard them when they break. The litter is unsightly, and a hazard to livestock that eat it. It’s a problem that grows as Isatou reaches adulthood. Watching her sister crochet gives Isatou the idea to turn the worn bags into something useful again, and soon a group of women are transforming old plastic bags into purses after washing and cutting them into strips to crochet. The new bags are not only a solution to the litter problem but become a means of economic development in their community. Debut Wisconsin author Miranda Paul brings a storyteller’s gift for language and pacing to this picture book account based on real events and set against Elizabeth Zunon’s illustrations full of texture and color. An author’s note with more about Isatou and the ongoing initiative, pronunciation guide for the Wolof words incorporated into the narrative, timeline, bibliography, and color photographs are included in the end matter. ©2015 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

Wisconsin author

Miranda Paul grew up in Green Bay. She currently lives in Bellevue, Wisconsin.

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 7-10
Age Range: PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7) Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: Environmental Challenges Gambians and Gambian Americans Girls and Women Recycling and Repurposing
Diversity subject: Black/African

Publisher: Millbrook
Publish Year: 2015
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781467716086

CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 363 Paul