Maggie’s Treasure

Maggie, a brown-skinned girl in roomy overalls, sees “the sparkle in everything,” finding treasures—“a dropped button, a bottle cap, a bright red feather”—in others’ trash. Mistaking her gathering as an effort at litter collection, the community initially cheers the girl’s deeds; the mayor even rewards her with a ribbon. But when her assemblage overwhelms her family’s house and her work leaves the sanitation department with nothing to do, Maggie must find a way to redistribute her trove. Inspired by nature, she does so in style, helping her community to see the beauty in banality transformed. In the creative team’s second collaboration (Tokyo Digs a Garden), Lappano balances a sound environmental message with an alliterative, lyrical text and humorous touches—a gag in which three underemployed sanitation workers resort to grooming squirrels becomes all the funnier when the squirrels rebel. In blocky shapes of bold, flat color, Hatanaka’s stylized digital illustrations portray characters with impossibly long limbs and necks who gesture exaggeratedly. An engaging appeal to reduce and reuse with a decidedly DIY aesthetic. Ages 3–7. [em](Sept.) [/em]