A thoughtful child experiences a first taste of loss while learning the inner workings of the local waste management center in King of the Dump by Canadian creators Tim Wynne-Jones (The Ruinous Sweep) and Scot Ritchie (Zander Stays).
A white child with red hair holds a small riding dog toy in the backseat of a car. "Can't we keep him?" the child asks. The equally red-haired caretaker driving the duo to the dump explains, "You're too big now, Teddy." Kid and adult arrive at the center and a series of vignettes show Teddy participating in reducing, reusing, and recycling. When the time comes to donate Teddy's little rider to the dump's secondhand shop, the kid sadly grasps the little red dog's tail. The shop attendant replaces the toy with a bright crown to sit atop the doleful child's red locks. Shortly after, a toddler jumps on the dog and begins to giggle; Teddy's hesitancy transforms into delight. When Teddy asks to go on the next dump trip, the kid's caretaker responds with cheer: "Sure thing, Ted! You're the King of the Dump!"
King of the Dump has the clean appeal of a loose-lined cartoon strip, with sparse text contained in speech balloons. Wynne-Jones's evergreen messages on sharing, community, and eco-consciousness are shown in Ritchie's illustrations of the broad landscapes of the dump as well as the smaller, emotion-filled landscapes of the face. Onomatopoeia and big machinery will likely attract and excite younger readers, while the book invites older children to consider their contributions to caring for the environment and for others. --Cristina Iannarino, children's book buyer, Books on the Square