The Dumpster Diver Book

One person’s trash is another persons’s treasure in this vivid picture-book ode to creative recycling — and to loyal friends.

Anyone can dive for treasure in the ocean, but Steve dives for it in his neighborhood dumpster! As he delves into the trash each weekend, Steve encourages his young neighbors (aka the Diving Team) to see the potential in what other people throw away. With a little bit of imagination, trash can be transformed into treasure — and as the Diving Team soon discovers, it might even help a friend in need.

Children's Literature

A self-described "dumpster diver," artist Kerry Wade, who crafts chairs from old skis, is named by Janet Wong as the inspiration for this book. Told by a first-person narrator, it's the story of a neighbor, Steve the Electrician, who "dives for buried treasure/ right smack here/ in our backstreet alley." It's a dramatic beginning to this quirky story, as Steve gussies up for the occasion in a diving suit, and gathers his team. Everyone has a role, and it's clear that dumpster diving is no easy task. But it's after the treasures are collected that the real magic begins. Some things get crafted into lamps and tables, Some are gifts perfect for their recipients. Only the grouchy neighbor disagrees with this endeavor, so when Steve gets injured, it seems she might have the last laugh. Or then again, maybe not. Cheerful watercolor and ink illustrations are enhanced by cut-paper and tape overlays of various kinds that serve to frame the text. The visual clutter is cleverly appropriate to the theme, and will give young readers the opportunity to locate a vast array of objects of varying degrees of eccentricity. A whimsical treatment of the theme of recycled art.