"From a tall tree growing
in the forest - to the checkout
counter at the grocery store - one
little bag finds its way into the
hands of a young boy on the eve
of his first day at school."
This story begins in earnest before the title page is presented. In black-ink drawings - from the gifted and incomparable Henry Cole - the 'reader' visits a forest of trees. One stands out, and remains center of attention as it is felled, trucked, milled, processed, and shipped in a Hart-Felt Paper Bags carton to a general store. There it is used to hold a brand-new flashlight for a young male customer. The precious package is carefully placed in his bike's basket for safe passage home.
The bag's journey has begun. For his first day of school the boy's father uses the bag (brightened with a bold red heart) to transport his lunch. In the cafeteria at noon, his brown bag stands out from the lunch boxes and trays that others carry. He returns home with the bag intact. From that day on, readers see that the bag plays an important role in his daily life. Through school and into college, the bag is part of his days. It is never far from where he is, and is an integral part of many of his life's big events. As its journey came to a poignant end, I admit I teared up.
Such wonder shared without one word of text. I am in awe!
Henry Cole does add an author's note that speaks to his passion for conservation vs. consumerism. He explains that he used a brown paper lunch bag 'about seven hundred times'. He asks readers to consider what would happen if all paper bags had such a long life.
He dedicates his book:
"TO MY MOM
WHO INSPIRED THIS STORY,
TO ALL THOSE
WHO PACK LUNCHES EVERY DAY,
AND TO THOSE
WHO ALWAYS CARRY REUSABLE BAGS."
HAPPY EARTH DAY 2021
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