Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art

by J. H. Shapiro

Other authors: Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Illustrator)

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Vacant lots. Abandoned houses. Trash--lots of trash. Heidelberg Street was in trouble! Tyree Guyton loved his childhood home--that's where his grandpa Sam taught him to "paint the world." So he wanted to wake people up... to make them see Detroit's crumbling communities. Paintbrush in hand, Tyree cast his artistic spell, transforming everyday junk into magic trash. Soon local kids and families joined Tyree in rebuilding their neighborhood, discovering the healing power of art along the way. This picture book biography of Tyree Guyton, an urban environmental artist, shows how he transformed his decaying, crime-ridden neighborhood into the Heidelberg Project, an interactive sculpture park. The story spans from Tyree's childhood in 1950s Detroit to his early efforts to heal his community through art in the 1980s. Tyree's awards include Michigan Artist of the Year and International Artist. MAGIC TRASH offers strong themes of working together, the power of art, and the importance of inspiring community--especially kids--to affect action. The Heidelberg Project is internationally recognized for providing arts education to children and adults and for the ongoing development of several houses on Heidelberg Street. Not only does the Heidelberg Project prove that when a community works together it can rebuild itself, but it also addresses the issues of recycling, environmentalism, and community on a global level.… (more)

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BeckyatAPL | Feb 10, 2021 |

I decided to give this book a 4 star rating. I think this book is awesome for children. I am a huge supporter of the arts, and think that art is a crucial part of children's education, so getting to read a story about an artist that started young and became something so big and powerful is amazing. I think the use of the catch phrase throughout the book was super cute and a way to keep the children that will read this engaged and have something fun and powerful to remember when they finish the book is super cool. I loved getting to see the main characters story progress and how his grandpa was his biggest supporter and inspiration. (

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hannah98g | Jan 23, 2020 |

Tyree is a boy who thinks trash is treasure. His mama didn’t make enough money to buy him toys so he used what others called trash, as toys. Later, he turned trash into art. Not everyone saw it the way that Tyree did. Some thought he was crazy. Eventually, many people in his community came to love his art, but the city thought it was trash and destroyed it. I really liked how this story used a lot of sound words. The sound words like “pop” which they used when his button came off on the first page, make the story exciting to read aloud. This story also made me think about the story Rich because it talks about being poor and not having money to buy new things. In Rich she goes to the thrift story but Tyree makes wonderful things out of junk. I think both these stories show that life is what you make of it. I also noticed that this story could be used to make a point about recycling and how even what you think can not be used anymore and is garbage, still can be used. (

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JacquelynLochner | Jan 21, 2020 |

This is a very fun and uplifting read. Magic Trash tells the story of a boy named Tyree Guyton who goes around painting all of the broken, ugly, and trashy things in his city to bring light and make them look better. Anytime someone would vandalize or cause trouble on a house he would start painting it, to make it appear more fun and happy. This book has a very uplifting mood and gives readers good insight on the kind of person he is. Although painting is his passion, he is using it to do good in the community. (

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aengolia | Jan 16, 2020 |

Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art, written by J.H. Shapiro and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, discusses Tyree’s love for community and art. Tyree grew up on Heidelberg Street in Detroit. As a young man, Tyree moved away to serve in the military, work in a factory, and as a firefighter. However, when Tyree returned back to his childhood neighborhood, he realized that it had been vandalized and covered in trash. Tyree decided to take a stand, by using his artistic ability to bright up his neighborhood. Tyree painted the trash that he saw throughout his neighborhood. Unfortunately, not everyone liked Tyree’s art. As a result, Tyree and his supporters went to court to fight for the future of his artwork. The judge ruled in Tyree’s favor, so all of his artwork was saved!
Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art is a very well written and uplifting story for young readers. The illustrations consist of vibrant colors, truly capturing the attention of the reader. (

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ftruett | Nov 15, 2016 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
J. H. Shapiro	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Brantley-Newton, Vanessa	Illustrator	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

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The Best Children's Books of the Year (Five to Nine – 2012)

Books From All 50 States (and Washington, D.C.!) (Michigan)

Great Reads from Great Places (Michigan – 2012)

Michigan Notable Books (2012)

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Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art

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Vacant lots. Abandoned houses. Trash--lots of trash. Heidelberg Street was in trouble! Tyree Guyton loved his childhood home--that's where his grandpa Sam taught him to "paint the world." So he wanted to wake people up... to make them see Detroit's crumbling communities. Paintbrush in hand, Tyree cast his artistic spell, transforming everyday junk into magic trash. Soon local kids and families joined Tyree in rebuilding their neighborhood, discovering the healing power of art along the way. This picture book biography of Tyree Guyton, an urban environmental artist, shows how he transformed his decaying, crime-ridden neighborhood into the Heidelberg Project, an interactive sculpture park. The story spans from Tyree's childhood in 1950s Detroit to his early efforts to heal his community through art in the 1980s. Tyree's awards include Michigan Artist of the Year and International Artist. MAGIC TRASH offers strong themes of working together, the power of art, and the importance of inspiring community--especially kids--to affect action. The Heidelberg Project is internationally recognized for providing arts education to children and adults and for the ongoing development of several houses on Heidelberg Street. Not only does the Heidelberg Project prove that when a community works together it can rebuild itself, but it also addresses the issues of recycling, environmentalism, and community on a global level.

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