Last Straw

Sippy is a plastic straw that was used once and then thrown away. Learning that he cannot be recycled leaves him troubled about why he exists at all. Carried by wind and currents across the globe, he drifts past creatures caught up in the plastic crisis. A raccoon wears a six-pack ring around its neck, and a cardinal builds its nest from nothing but rubbish. Turtles mistake plastic grocery bags for food, a hermit crab has to make its home in a plastic bottle cap, and a surprised duck wanders about with a chip bag stuck on her head.

The journey reaches its peak when a hungry whale swallows Sippy, only to find that its meal is full of ocean debris. Just as things look hopeless, Sippy shoots free, and along the way the book offers readers options to single-use plastics. Its bright, lively story shows how plastics harm the natural world and gives young readers practical ways to keep from adding to the problem.