Lindsey Brooks

Jack and the Litter Critter Lindsey Brooks

A beautifully illustrated picture book about the adventures of a messy boy who meets a strange creature called the Litter Critter. A fun story that will help children understand that litter is bad for the environment.

This is a fun story about the Litter Critter, a strange creature whose job is to keep the streets free of litter, and Jack, a careless, messy boy. While walking to his friend's house and throwing down his sweet wrappers without a care, Jack is surprised by the Litter Critter, who tries to explain that it is not very nice of Jack to throw his rubbish on the ground. Jack doesn't want to listen as he is on his way to see his friends and is far too busy to pick up his wrappers. However, during the week following the encounter with the Litter Critter, Jack has many mishaps and soon realises the harmful consequences of people carelessly throwing their rubbish away. Jack soon becomes a reformed character thanks to the Litter Critter's guidance.

Litter is a global issue. Many people carelessly throw their rubbish on the ground, out of the car window, on the beach, in the park, etc., rather than taking the time to put it in a bin. This is a problem that needs to be addressed and is the main message in this book. The story is aimed at five to eight-year-olds, an impressionable age group. The hope is that by reading this book or having it read to them, children will start to understand that litter is bad for the environment and will think twice before carelessly discarding their rubbish, as will the parents or teachers reading the story to them.

As well as being a fun story that will help children realise the importance of helping to keep the environment clean, this book also illustrates the importance of being considerate and the consequences of our actions.

Hearing about Jack's mishaps with discarded rubbish and the Litter Critter's guidance will hopefully make an impression on the young reader and could be one small step towards helping to keep our environment clean.