[Child Book Filter] 70s Children's Book on Pollution

January 16, 2009 8:53 PM

Does anyone remember the name of a children's book that was a cautionary tale against air pollution? I remember it being a soft cover book w/ that was short and wide. Pictures of factory(s) and people getting and wearing gas masks (as well as dogs)! I can't remember the ending but hopefully my description suffices.
posted by gnash to media & arts (13 comments total)

Was it a Dr. Seuss?
posted by Sys Rq at 9:04 PM on January 16

Was this from like 30 years ago? I don't recall a book exactly (or the title), but rather a multi-page story in my 3rd grade Language Arts text book. The story took place in "the future" and the art wasn't drawings but rather the people were made of collage (kinda like this). I seem to recall that the family was going outside for their one-day-a-year or whatever and every one had to don gas masks because the environment was so bad. I believe there were dogs in gas masks as well—and it may have in fact been that the entire family had dog heads. Ring any bells?
posted by blueberry at 10:02 PM on January 16

Might it be The Lorax?
Google Video seems to have it.
posted by sperose at 10:28 PM on January 16

i think i may know what you're talking about... i think it had "pollutants", it may have been about another planet. if that sounds like it i can ask my sister if she remembers the name of it.
posted by big open mouth at 10:39 PM on January 16

I'm pretty sure I know the book you are talking about but unfortunately can recollect no details. Unfortunately digging pretty heavily into Library Thing on tag searches like this (and many others) I don't think it must be a well-remembered or famous book (as opposed to something obvious like The Lorax). I'm not sure if it was collage as blueberry remembers but that it did have very stylized, very seventies-ish (early Sesame street animation/yellow submarine-y type of stuff) illustrations, and it had a somewhat positive ending in that people started to take an initiative to clean things up and plant flowers and such. I also feel like I remember there being something about like whales in a giant tank but I may be imagining that or conflating it with another book. Not very useful I know but at least I think I can weigh in that you're not crazy or imagining it. At this point I'm mostly feeling pretty bitter that these books have been depressing the hell out of me since I was seven and yet we continue to trash the planet. God, anyone remember Wump World?
posted by nanojath at 10:39 PM on January 16

It's definitely not the Lorax and I think big open mouth is actually thinking of Wump World (the invading world wreckers in that are called Pollutians) which I don't think is it either.
posted by nanojath at 10:41 PM on January 16

Barbapapa's Ark, by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor.
posted by gyusan at 11:07 PM on January 16 [1 favorite]

Well, gyusan has at least answered the question of the book I was thinking of. Is there anything architecture photography librarian/archivists can't do?
posted by nanojath at 11:25 PM on January 16 [1 favorite]

Well, I can't find a scan of the illustration in the book that I remember where, yes, they are all wearing gas masks, including the dog.

Picture of the cover, though: Barbapapa's Ark
posted by gyusan at 11:28 PM on January 16

(Also, Barbapapas, previously on Metafilter, and I'm really sorry if this is totally wrong and hijacked your question, gnash).
posted by nanojath at 11:30 PM on January 16

yep, nanojath. that's exactly what i was thinking of.
posted by big open mouth at 1:13 AM on January 17

Sorry everyone I didn't meant to abandon this question. My thanks for everyone's help - it is in fact Barpapapa's Ark and I thank everyone for helping me find it!!! I loved this book as a kid!
posted by gnash at 9:30 AM on February 23

FYI the books on E-bay are so expensive (for a kid's book) - $25+!
posted by gnash at 9:33 AM on February 23