The Tindims of Rubbish Island

By Author / Illustrator

Sally Gardner, Lydia Corry

Genre

Environment

Age range(s)

Publisher

Head of Zeus

ISBN

9781838935672

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

03-09-2020

Synopsis

Mother-and-daughter duo, prizewinning Sally Gardner and Lydia Corry, create a fun new world of characters and adventures in their empowering new series for 5-8 year olds inspiring conservation and inventive ways to recycle.

'What is rubbish today is treasure tomorrow.' Discover Rubbish Island which the Tindims have built entirely from things we have thrown away. Captain Spoons, Mug, Jug, Brew, Skittle and friends are busy recycling when Ethel B Dina is blown out to sea and the Tindims must launch a rescue operation with the help of some friendly fish and surprises along the way.

Printed in dyslexia-friendly font with pictures on every page and perfect for the reluctant reader, the Tindims show keen young ecologists how to help protect our planet for the future.

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Reviews

The Tindims of Rubbish Island is a delightful story, the first in the series, about a group of miniature characters called the Tindims, who live on an island of rubbish that floats around in the sea. Since Viking times, the Tindims have worked tirelessly as self appointed eco-warriors, recycling items the tide brings to their island each and every day.

Written by award winning author Sally Gardner, this story is rather like a modern day version of the classic Borrowers story by Mary Norton. The Tindims' adventures take place amidst the bits and pieces they find around their island, and are further bought to life by a selection of black and white illustrations by Lydia Corry.

The Tindims is a great way of enlightening young minds to the very current problem that plastic waste creates in our oceans today. The Tindims not only spend their days clearing plastic from the sea around them but they also care for the sea creatures that are injured by this dreadful problem.

Skittle, her furry pet Pinch; her parents, Admiral Bonnet and Captain Spoons, and a number of other small people including Granny Gull and Barnacle Bow, seem to find a use for every piece of rubbish that the 'Long Legs' throw into the water. For years they have lived by their motto: 'Rubbish today is treasure tomorrow', but with more and more plastic being washed up on the shores of Rubbish island, the Tindims are finding this is getting much harder to do.

The descriptive language in this book is plentiful, young readers cannot help but picture the creative scenes of the Tindims island; although this descriptive imagery may prove a little tricky for many newly independent readers. Personally I would have loved to see this story in picture book format, where readers could use the colourful pictures to not only to inspire their young minds but also to support their reading.

I am sure that this would make a great class reader, read by an adult or older more experienced reader, allowing the younger minds to listen and focus on the story content. A great fictional tale to accompany a Primary school topic on plastic waste, recycling and the oceans. It will be interesting to see if the next book in this series also follows this environmentally-friendly genre.

128 pages / Reviewed by Sam Phillips, teacher