The Soda Bottle School
by Laura Kutner and Suzanne Slade; illus. by Aileen Darragh
32 pages; ages 6-12
Tilbury House publishers, 2014
This is the true story of how one crazy idea led to
recycling, teamwork, and a new school. It is about Fernando and his friends who
go to school in a small town in Guatemala. The students squish into the
classrooms, with two kids at each desk and two classes in each room. Some days
it is too noisy to think.
Then one day the crazy idea hit: could they build a bigger
school using old plastic soda bottles? Before long everyone was involved
collecting bottles and stuffing them with old chip bags and plastic trash to
make them stronger. These were "eco-ladrillos" or eco-bricks. then
they stacked the bottles between chicken wire, and later they covered that with
cement. And finally, they painted the walls orange.
But the story doesn't end there. Kutner is donating her
portion of profits from the book to
Trash for Peace, and Slade is donating hers
to
Hug it Forward. Both organizations are funding bottle schools.
I asked Suzanne to tell me more about how she came to write
The Soda Bottle School. She graciously answered Three Questions:
Sally: What inspired
you to write this book?
Suzanne: In the
summer of 2011, I was checking out the annual Folklife Festival on the National
Mall (Washington DC) when I saw a colorful plastic wall sparkling in the
afternoon sun. As I approached it, I noticed children stuffing plastic bags and
trash into soda bottles with sticks. They placed the trash-filled bottles
inside a frame made of wood and chicken wire. Nearby, a poster held photos of
children constructing tall plastic walls—an entire building—out of trash! Their elementary school, the Escuela Oficial
Urbana Mixta de Granado, had become over-crowded. Two grades shared one
classroom. Two students sat at one desk. The situation looked hopeless, until
the villagers got this crazy idea. Could they build new schoolrooms out of
their trash?
I knew I had to write about this because, first, I was
amazed by the remarkable creativity that resulted in a school built out of old
soda bottles and trash. Seriously, I would never have thought of that! And
second, I was blown away by the tremendous teamwork of the 200 students, along
with their teachers, parents, and grandparents, who collected, cleaned,
stuffed, and stacked over 6000 soda bottles. As I studied the photos, it was
incredible to see the children smiling throughout the entire construction
process which lasted fifteen grueling months,
Sally: Tell me about the process you use to research and
write, and how you worked together with your co-author, Laura.
Suzanne: For all my stories, I do a great deal of research
up front. It's crucial to know the details about the facts I plan to use – as
well as background information - before I begin writing. Although my writing
budget couldn't support a trip to Guatemala, I was fortunate to have many great
research sources. An ABC news report on Earth Day provided video footage of the
project so I could hear the sounds and see the sights of Guatemala. Laura's
Granados photo collection was very helpful--especially when it came to
understanding what happened during the various construction phases.
At the beginning of the book project I met with Laura, and
then followed up with numerous phone conversations. I have pages and pages of
notes from those discussions. Around revision 138 we decided to tell the story
through the eyes of a fourth grade student at the school named Fernando. Since
Laura had taught at this school and knew the students (and Spanish!) well, she
acted as the go-between and talked with Fernando and his mother.
In the end, I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity
share the inspiring story of how students in Granados built their school out of
trash (and cleaned up their town.) And I'm even more pleased to be able donate
my profits from the book to fund new bottle schools!
Sally: You have an engineering degree - and I notice that
3/4 of your recent books have to do with architecture: The House that George
Built; Soda Bottle School; and With Books and Bricks. Does your training help
you see the world differently?
Suzanne: I don't know if my engineering background helps me
see things from a different perspective, but the research skills I developed
during college help me stay organized and keep digging while doing research for
a new book. I also suspect my lifelong interest in science draws me to certain
topics, such as cool building projects. I was fascinated to learn that, when
George Washington decided to build a house for the president, his colossal
project required so many people, skilled and unskilled, to complete. I was
inspired to write With Books and Bricks after I read Booker T. Washington's
amazing autobiography, Up From Slavery, and learned that he made thousands of
bricks by hand. He dug the clay, molded the bricks, and fired them in a kiln!
Sally: Anything in the works?
Suzanne: I just finished reviewing the final proofs for a
new picture book, The Inventor's Secret, which releases from Charlesbridge in
2015. It shares the fascinating (and true) story of how Henry Ford discovered
the secret of one of the greatest inventors of all time - Thomas Edison.
Today we're joining the roundup over at the
Nonfiction Monday blog where you'll find even more book reviews.
Review copy provided by
publisher.
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