The Junkyard Wonders

[cmp librarian]

Polacco, P. (2010). The Junkyard Wonders. NY: Philomel Books.| 44 pages | Juvenile Fiction

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and all it takes to see the treasure in what others call junk is a little optimism, courage, and creativity. The question of this story is – should human beings be looked as junk? What does it say about society when we label and write off others as ‘stupid’, ‘retards’, or ‘worthless’? The Junkyard Wonders takes the reader on a journey through the eyes of a child to see the wonder and inspirational beauty and talent of children in society that have been written off as junk.

Junkyard Wonders is based on the author, Patricia Polacco’s, experiences from her childhood of growing up struggling with a learning disability. The story is about a dyslexic girl named Trisha, who struggles with learning to read. As a result other kids label her as "dumb." Trisha asks to go to school in Michigan, where her father lives, for a chance for a new start, hopefully not be labeled by others. It comes as a shock to Trisha, then, to discover that her class is known by the “regular” kids as “The Junkyard” because it is a class for kids who have “problems.” However, Mrs. Peterson, the teacher, walks into the classroom and immediately explains the definition of the word genius and claims that each student in the Junkyard class is a genius. In addition, she tells her class of "Junkyard Wonders" that a junkyard is actually a marvelous place filled with practically unlimited potential, and each one of her students has unlimited potential if they are willing to work hard. Mrs. Peterson takes the class on a trip to the local junkyard. For the rest of the school-year tribes or groups of students work together to make something new and creative out of the things they found in the junkyard. Trisha’s group redesigns an old model plane. One of their classmates, Jody, suggests the name of the plane be "Junkyard Wonder." A few days after finishing the plane, Jody dies. In Jody's honor, the students in the Junkyard class fly the plane off of the top of the school roof. The plane goes all the way to the moon.

Patricia Polacco has written numerous children’s books and received several distinguishing awards, including receiving three Parent Choice Honor awards. However, The Junkyard Wonders has not yet received any awards or honors. Nevertheless, the story has received several excellent reviews.

All in all, The Junkyard Wonders is a memorable book for children who have disabilities and want to believe in themselves. The book is best suited to children ages five and up due to length of the book being a bit long for younger readers. The book would be a great book to use either in a classroom or for a library story hour to teach about bullying. Educators could have the students think about words and labels and how they affect the way a person feels about themselves and what they are able to do. What happens when someone takes those labels away? How does the encouragement of one person impact the future?