Caramel reviews The Extraordinary Book That Eats Itself by Susan Hayes, Penny Arlon, and Pintachan

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about a fun activity book first published in 2021: The Extraordinary Book That Eats Itself: Every Page Turns Into An Eco Project That Helps You Save The Planet, written by Susan Hayes and Penny Arlon and illustrated by Pintachan.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today you have another activity book for us. 

Caramel: Yep, I really like the activities in this book.

S: That is great! I hope we can talk about some of them in a bit. But let us start with the title. Why is this book called The Extraordinary Book That Eats Itself?

C: It is because the book has an activity on each page that allows you to use that page to create something that benefits the environment. You are supposed to use each of the pages, and even the cover pages, so in the end, when you are done with the book, the book has eaten itself up!

S: I see! That’s clever! 

C: Yes it is. And I want us to finish this review so I can get started with the activities!

S: Alright, we will hurry then. When I hold the book I can feel that the cover is hard card stock, and the pages are also relatively thick and very colorful. So they could make good material for crafts and such. 

C: Yeah, they suggest that you use all of them for a project. As I said, each page introduces a project and you are supposed to use that page, and sometimes some of the cover pages, for the activity.

S: I understand. So tell me about the activities then. 

C: Well, there are sixty pages and an activity on every two pages, so there are a total of thirty activities. There is a handy table of contents at the beginning and they list all the things. 

S: Okay, have you tried any of them yet?

C: No!! I am trying to finish this review so I can start pulling apart the pages and actually do the activities!

S: Okay, sorry, yes, let us get on with the review then, so you can get to help the book eat itself soon.

S: Once we are done, which activity are you going to start with? Are you going to go page by page from the beginning to the end? Is there some kind of an order to the activities?

C: I think they mean it that way, but I am not sure if I want to go in the order they put the book together. 

S: Which activity will you start with then? 

C: I don’t know.

S: Well, then why don’t you begin at the beginning? That is the advice the King gave to Alice in Alice in Wonderland. 

C: Yeah, that might be the right train of thought there.

S: So what does that mean? What is the very first activity? 

C: To build a worm bin and to throw food into it like a composting bin.

S: Hmm, I like the idea in theory, but when we tried composting, we just got a lot of little flies in the house. But maybe we can try again. We probably did not do it right the first time. 

C: I remember the flies! But yes, maybe we should try again.

S: Okay, that is an interesting idea and we will talk about it. What is the next project?

C: To just share things. 

S: Instead of buying things new and so on?

C: Yep.

S: Hmm, so I can see why the book has the subtitle “Every Page Turns Into An Eco Project That Helps You Save The Planet”. They are trying to have you do things that will help you with environmental conservation, by encouraging you to try recycling, composting, and so on. 

C: Yep, remember you are supposed to recycle every scrap left over from the projects, so the book won’t create any trash. So it is truly a book that eats itself. Everything will be used up!

S: Like they say: ““Reduce, reuse, and recycle”.

C: Yes, that’s the spirit! 

S: Okay, what other projects seem especially enticing to you? 

C: I guess the first, the worm bin, is my favorite. But I also liked the twelfth one, which is about planting a tree. I also want to make my own pizza, which is the twenty-sixth activity. 

S: Hmm, pizza sounds yummy! And I love trees, and that sounds wonderful, too, Caramel. So maybe we should wrap this review up so you can get started!

C: Yep!

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!