Herbie tells his Grandpa Bear all about what he learned at school-- reduce, reuse, recycle!

Fifth-grader Cora feels her life is like the garbage her scientist-parents track, as their marriage is ending and Cora's best friend, Sybella, has thrown her away for a new girl.

Amelia Bedelia and her friends rally their town into recycling, but soon end up with more junk than they know what to do with. Plus, there's a graffiti artist on the loose! --

In pictures without words, the reader follows the journey of one brown paper bag from a tree in the forest through the years it is used by three generations of one family until eventually the old bag becomes the container in which a new tree is planted.