Book Review: Michael Recycle Meets Bootleg Peg by Ellie Bethel, Alexandra Colombo

Michael Recycle Meets Bootleg Peg is a picturebook written by Ellie Bethel and illustrated by Alexandra Colombo. This is a book in the Michael Recycle! series, but it is not necessary to read the series as a whole or in order to appreciate it. Michael Recycle is a caped-clean-Earth-crusader. He is on the job, turning his attention to the high seas after his favorite restaurant's menu is rendered fishless because of overfishing. Michael aims to rights another environmental wrong as he searches for the culprit, Bootleg Peg, and receives aid from the ocean creatures in the process.

Michael Recycle Meets Bootleg Peg is a colorful and fun adventure that highlights the need to pay attention to how our actions affect the world in both big and small ways. Michael is an echo aware hero that works to keep the environment healthy. Bootleg Peg is a mean pirate that is more worried about her own green and enjoyment than the way her actions affect the creatures she captures or the world in general. The confrontation is exciting and the solution novel. I loved the use of ocean creature to help solve the problem.

Michael Recycle Meets Bootleg Peg is full of bright and fun illustrations that will interest most younger readers. The environmental message could come off as a little heavy handed to older children and adults, but I think it will be well received by the intended audience and will be a good tool in teaching environmental awareness and care.

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