Sounds of Trash

Tina Athaide, author
Tina Athaide is an educator and children’s book author who wrote the middle grade novel Orange For The Sunsets, which was awarded the Geoffrey Bilson Award by the Canadian Children's Book Council, and Wings to Soar, as well as picture book Meena’s Mindful Moment. Tina was born in Uganda and emigrated to London and then Canada and now lives in Southern California.
Read more about Tina.
Neha Rawat, illustrator
Neha Rawat is a children’s book author-illustrator from India who loves stories that explore emotions, relationships, humor, culture, and diversity. She has illustrated many books, including Zuni and the Memory Jar, Masala Chai, Fast and Slow, and Buddha and the Rose.
Read more about Neha.
- Coming soon!
Publishers Weekly
DIY saves the day in Athaide and Rawat’s upbeat STEAM story. When it’s announced that a community block party will be moved to a venue that lacks power, a trio of children lament “No electricity meant no booming bhangra beats” until an elder suggests they solve the problem themselves. Evenly paced storytelling traces the kids’ day-by-day process as they orchestrate a plan to create their own instruments. After brainstorming and sketching, they repurpose recyclables into shakers (“Raúl poured pebbles into coffee tins. They rattled”), drums (“Mira’s shredded-paper brushes rustled”), and sitars (“Pran’s sitar TWANGED and VIBRATED”). Coupled with contributions from inspired neighbors, the results make for an event marked by “a marvelous mash, all these sounds made from trash.” Employing muted coloring, digital cartooning incorporates music notes and prototype schematics throughout an enthusiastic tale of invention that eagerly highlights creative problem-solving. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Back matter includes a design-process workflow.
English Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-684-7
English Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-686-1
Spanish Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-685-4
Spanish Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-687-8
Ages: 4–7
Page count: 40
91/2 x 81/2
Publication date: August 4, 2026


