Glamorous Garbage

K-Gr 2—Bobbie is one of those kids who feel cozy in her room filled with clutter, but her mom has given her an ultimatum: "'I'll give you two weeks to decide what stays and what goes. After that, I get to decide.'" At first the child is enthusiastic; perhaps this is a chance to convert her "little-kid room" into a more sophisticated "Garden Party Room." But in the subsequent days, she makes no progress in eliminating any of her possessions. Instead, she begins to acquire even more stuff when she discovers other people's enticing castaways. One day her cousin Joanie loses a toy in the messy room, and when she abruptly leaves in anger, the necessity of a full scale clean-up project becomes clear to Bobbie. But how can a pack rat even begin such an overwhelming task? Fortunately her mom has a plan. Newman captures the little girl's spunk in the text and the playful illustrations and provides a wonderful solution for children who cannot part with things and those who are just plain sloppy.