Gr 1–3—Wordless, accessible, and eco-friendly all apply to this lovely invitation to one small gesture—reusing a
humble lunch bag—that, repeated over decades, holds the story of a boy's life, his family, his future. An economy of
line and storytelling sets this tale in a resilient, diverse America.

Loved this book. Black and white pen illustrations. Only color is little brown bag with tiny red hearts. Very sweet story. ( )

This book is meant for primary age students. This wordless picture book tracks the journey of a single paper bag, from the tree it came from all until the end when it is replanted again. Simultaneously, however, we are following a little's boys life, from when he takes his school lunch in the little paper bag, to meeting his wife to having children of his own, to finally replanting that paper bag with a new tree.
This book had a lot of depth, and was bittersweet as well. Though this book is designed for younger students, there may be some themes or minuscule details that may only pop out for older kids. This may mean that it is a pertinent job of the educators to help guide students through this story through leading questions.

Note: I received an ARC of this book at an ALA conference. ( )

Marvelously talented author/artist Henry Cole, whose work ranges from middle-grade novels such as A Nest for Celeste to picture-books like On Meadowview Street, turns in this wordless story to the themes of ecological awareness and the love of family. Following the "life" of the little paper bag, the visual narrative here begins in the forest, depicts the creation of the bag at a paper factory, and then chronicles how it is used and reused by three generations of the family that eventually comes to possess it. Put to use during many important moments in this family's life, the bag is finds its final purpose after the death of the beloved grandfather - the man who originally owned it - planted in the ground with a young sapling...

Like his earlier Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad and Spot, the Cat, Cole's One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey manages to tell an engaging story entirely through the artwork. Beautifully detailed, the pen and ink illustrations here capture all of the resources and effort that went into the creation of this one little bag, and all of the emotional ups and downs of the people who eventually come to own the bag. As Cole mentions in his afterword, this story was inspired by a paper bag that he himself used for three years, to carry his lunch to school, and its is meant to offer a vision of a world in which we humans have rejected the wastefulness of single-use, disposable objects. I am entirely in sympathy with that idea, and I also found the family story here by turns poignant and heartwarming. Highly recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy wordless stories, and to anyone searching for children's books promoting ecological awareness, and the careful use of resources, both large and small. ( )