The Soda Bottle School: A True Story of Recycling, Teamwork, and One Crazy Idea by Seño Laura Kutner (review)

Set in the small Guatemalan village of Granados, this inspirational true story recounts the way an impoverished community in need of a larger school building comes together and constructs a building from plastic soda bottles and trash. Over fifteen months, community members collect plastic bottles, stuff them full of trash to add strength, line them up along chicken-wire walls, and fortify them with cement. Other nearby villages then latch on to the idea and build similar structures in their towns. Based on the author’s own experience as a visiting school teacher in Guatemala, this account offers plenty of content for character education lessons, from themes of cooperation to perseverance to ingenuity. The repeated statement that the project not only addressed the building need but also the problem of garbage lying around the town adds further heft to the story as well as a reminder to readers to think about the trash they produce. Darragh’s cheerful line and watercolor illustrations feature casually lined figures informally accented with paintstrokes; the overall effect is that of simplicity, with no extensive detailing and the watercolor variegation the only texture. A lengthy author’s note provides further information about the actual project as well as a few photographs of “eco-ladrillos” (the name for soda-bottle bricks made of reused materials) and the school itself. Additional end matter directs readers to the website for Kutner’s nonprofit organization, which includes resources and activities for teachers; a glossary and pronunciation guide for a few included Spanish words is also included.