by Fred Koehler
As he hobbled down the airplane stabilizer toward Archie’s workshop, he relished the sounds of waves and wind mixed with the buzzes and chirps of citizens.
While Mr. Popli had been confined to the hospital, the mouse’s mind had been brewing with plans and ideas. He couldn’t wait to tell the shrew all about them.
He knocked on the door to Archie’s workshop.
“I’m an invalid and I’m not getting up! You can leave pies on the windowsill!”
“Archibald?”
“Mayor Popli? Come in! Come in! Merri, look who it is!”
Mr. Popli hobbled into Archie’s workshop. He was relieved to see that Archie had already gained some weight. He must have been receiving a lot of pies indeed. After hugging his friend, Mr. Popli immediately busied himself making tea as they filled each other in on all the missing pieces from their adventures.
While they talked, Archie moved about his workshop with paws outstretched, using his whiskers and tail to sense for walls, chairs, and cabinets. If he was bothered by his condition, he didn’t show it at all.
Eventually, Merri left to attend to some overdue business with the Order of the Silver Moon. She promised to be back in time for dinner. And since Mr. Popli was hiding from his nurse, the mouse volunteered to stay till she returned. There were many pies to be eaten and all the dandelion tea they could drink.
“So what happens now, Mayor Popli?”
“Actually, it won’t be Mayor Popli any longer. I’m stepping down.”
“What? Why hasn’t anyone told me?”
“Nothing’s official yet. But it will be. As soon as the new division of the Order is up and running.”
“Now that I have heard about.”
“They’re calling themselves Archie’s Shrew Seekers.”
Archie fell silent for a moment. “Thank you for doing this, Mr. Popli. I’ve dreamt about something like it ever since I lost my family.”
“I should be thanking you. And asking your pardon, Archie. You heard what Bright Scales told me. My family could be out there, too. My whole colony. This division of the Order will search for our families. I plan to join them.”
“Then so will I. When do we start?”
The mouse hemmed and hawed for a moment, unsure of how to say what he hoped the shrew already understood. “We’ll get you involved just as soon as your eyesight comes back.” If it comes back.
“Ridiculous! I don’t need to see to help you plan an adventure!”
“Yes, but we’ll need your eyes on every inch of the ship and every detail of the voyage. That’s why we’re waiting for you to get better.”
That answer seemed to pacify the shrew. “But you won’t leave without me?”
“We’d never dream of it.”
“Good.” The shrew thought for a moment. “Who do you think will be mayor in your place?”
“It’s too soon to say. Captain Shift, perhaps? That is, of course, if everyone’s number one choice isn’t at all interested.”
“Who? Not Edward the Dung, I hope.”
“No, I’m talking about someone who demonstrated real leadership during the invasion. A hero.”
“You mean Merri, of course! I’ll bet she took out half the spiders all by herself!”
“Not Merri …”
“Mrs. Toad?”
“Old Mrs. Toad? The one who eats plastic berries?!”
“I heard she swallowed a lot of spiders during the invasion … But I give up! Who?”
“You, Archie! Your quick thinking, your selfless defense of the island and the families, the way you led the Order and repelled the invasion—you’d be elected mayor in a heartbeat.”
“Oh!” The shrew felt a sudden warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the tea.
Just then a loud knock at the door interrupted them.
“You can leave it on the windowsill!” called the mouse, which set both him and Archie to laughing.
“MAYOR POPLI! WE HAVE TURNED THIS ISLAND UPSIDE DOWN LOOKING FOR YOU!”
“Snakespit,” said Mr. Popli. “The nurse! I don’t suppose you have any more secret passages or hidden doors, do you?”
“You have no idea,” replied Archie with a grin.
Author’s Note
A vortex of floating trash swirls in the Pacific Ocean. As I learned more about it, I wondered, What if terrestrial animals got marooned there? Other questions followed: What kind of animals? What would they eat and drink? How could they live side by side? To satisfy my curiosity, I wrote Garbage Island. My hope is not to lay blame for the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but to inspire a new generation of intrepid geniuses who, like Archibald and Mr. Popli, see the trash as a puzzle we can solve together.
Acknowledgments
I’d never be a published author without years of honing my craft through the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Thanks go out to Lin Oliver, Jane Yolen, Dan Santat, Paul Zelinsky, Linda Bernfeld, Gaby Triana, Curtis Sponslor, Shannon Hitchcock, Augusta Scattergood, Heidi Stemple, Rob Sanders, Frank Remkiewicz, Janine Mason, Kerry Cerra, Hazel Mitchell, Debbi Ohi, Russ Cox, Sheri Barnes, Steve Asbell, Gladys Jose, and everyone else who makes this organization successful.
Thanks to my critique group, including Sara Pennypacker, Dianne Ochiltree, Toni Buzzeo, and Linda Shute, for offering invaluable advice and encouragement. Thank you, Dr. Kate L. Laskowski, for Skyping with me about spiders’ social behaviors. Thank you, Joyce Sweeney, for the many fantastic writing workshops. Thank you, Lorin Oberweger and Donald Maass, for the brilliant Breakout Novel Intensive where Garbage Island came together.
Thank you, Tracey Adams of Adams Literary, for orchestrating the perfect partnership with amazing editor Rebecca Davis at Boyds Mills Press. You have both experienced me at my most insufferable moments, and I formally apologize for all past and future offenses. Thank you to the rest of the Boyds Mills team, including Liz, Brittany, Suzy, Cherie, Barbara, Tim, Toni, Sue, Kerry, and Michael.
Thank you, God, for turning the garbage of my life into a vessel that can serve a purpose. Thank you to Abby and Jack, who I love more than all the toilet paper in the world. And to the girl who writes fairy tales—the best is yet to come.
An Interview with Fred Koehler
Q. What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, how was it formed, and what can we do about it?
A. We’ve all seen trash someplace it shouldn’t be. Sometimes it makes its way into our oceans. Researchers have discovered that floating ocean garbage collects in a number of swirling “gyres” created by ocean currents. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains two separate gyres that can be found in the Pacific Ocean between the western coast of the Americas and the eastern coast of Asia.
For the book, I wanted to be sure to provide the most accurate information I could. After concluding my own research, I spoke with Laurent Lebreton, an oceanographer with the Ocean Cleanup Foundation (www.theoceancleanup.com) who studies the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. He explained:
“The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is formed by currents and winds at sea, which transport plastic trash from all over the world into the area. The best thing to do about it is to use less plastic and be sure that we carefully place our plastic trash into recycling bins. Even when we litter in the streets, plastic can make its way down… drains and rivers and eventually end up in the oceans where it accumulates in places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”
Q. Are there really animals living on garbage patches in the ocean and, if so, how did they get there?
A. Animal life exists all throughout the ocean, and different types of animals seek out structures, depths, and temperatures where they are most comfortable. Floating garbage is often mixed together with floating seaweed, so you would expect to see the types of marine animals that congregate around seaweed patches—migrating ocean birds, pelagic fish, sea turtles, barnacles, shrimp, etc.
Laurent Lebreton adds the following:
“It’s important to r
emember that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not one big island, as the trash is spread over wide areas of oceanic waters. Plastic debris can act as floating rafts where marine organisms can live and be transported over large distances. This can include algae and invertebrates or mollusks, such as mussels or oysters. Also larger objects like abandoned fishing nets found in the garbage patch can trap and harm fishes, sea turtles, dolphins, or whales, representing a real danger for these animals.”
But what about the terrestrial (land-based) animals that appear in the book? This question was one of the big “what ifs” that led me to write this story. The concept is called biological vagrancy, and basically it means that sometimes animals show up outside of their normal habitats. Pets escape or get released where they don’t naturally live. Flocks of birds get blown off course by storms. Insects and small mammals stow away on boats. It seems unlikely that so many terrestrial animals would be found together in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but the possibility fired my imagination, and I created a place where these vagrant animals might find themselves marooned, and I called it Garbage Island.
Q. This book has lots of different types of opponents for the citizens of Garbage Island: a shark, a rat, spiders, big fish. If animals naturally eat one another, can any of your characters really be villains?
A. If you’re anything like me, you learned about the idea of an “opponent” at a very young age—perhaps the first time another kid raced you to the front of the line or snatched a favorite toy right before you could reach it. By definition, an opponent is someone who acts in opposition to someone else’s plans or goals. The hallmark of a villain, however, is someone who acts with cruelty, intending harm or destruction. So an opponent isn’t necessarily a villain, but they can be!
For example, the citizens of Garbage Island have loads of opponents. Their goal is to survive and thrive as a community. Many other characters in the ocean stand (or swim) between them and their plans. But that doesn’t make them villains. It just means that these opponents have different wants and needs (which often include eating the citizens). If you told the story from the perspective of the Big Eye Tuna in chapter one, the islanders would be the fish’s opponents because they stopped him from getting his dinner (even though his dinner was supposed to be Archibald).
The first real villain that arises is the Spider Queen. When Archie and Mr. Popli land on her island, she could have let them go without any negative consequences. She had food, water, and shelter, but that wasn’t enough. She was willing to be cruel to Archie and Mr. Popli, needlessly hurting or killing them to get what she wanted. That’s why I think she’s a villain, but readers may disagree.
What about Colubra? She’s cunning and angry and, by the end, attacks the citizens regularly. Is she a villain? I leave that question to you. What do you think? I would love to hear your responses.
Q. Archibald and Mr. Popli have very different ideas of what would be best for their society. Which one of them is right?
A. Archibald. Definitely Archibald. No—wait, Mr. Popli. No—actually …
When I started writing Garbage Island, I thought Mr. Popli would be the hero and Archibald would be the goofy sidekick. The deeper I got into the story, the more I discovered that Archie is in many ways the cleverest and most creative of the citizens. He has so many great ideas, but he has a hard time working with others.
Mr. Popli, on the other hand, does a really good job of getting animals to work together. But even though he’s creative, Mr. Popli doesn’t have the imagination to invent bizarre, useful contraptions like Archie.
It takes Mr. Popli and Archie most of the book to figure out that neither one of them is completely right all the time. But when they learn to work together, wow! They’re unstoppable.
Q. This adventure is set on the open sea. Have you spent a lot of time around the ocean?
A. There’s a story about me as a tiny baby that my mom likes to tell. My dad, an avid outdoorsman, had taken the family out on a little boat and got caught in a storm. As they’re fighting the wind and waves to make it back to land, my dad’s trying to steer the boat with one arm and has me tucked under the other like a football. My face is toward the sky; rain is pouring over me; thunder and lightning are crashing all around.
The way I figure it, I must have looked Mother Nature square in the eye that day and (in my baby brain) said “THIS IS AWESOME!” I’ve been a waterbound adventurer ever since. Growing up and now living in Florida, I spend lots of time in the ocean—diving, kayaking, fishing. Everything about it feels like home: the steady pulse of the waves, the way light moves through the water, even the salty taste and smell of the coastal air.
Q. What’s next for Archibald, Mr. Popli, and Merri?
A. This is the best question of all! I’m already working on the next adventure and here are some super-duper-top-secret things I’m allowed to tell you.
Mr. Popli and Archie will argue and get into lots of trouble.
One character will take a big risk and leave the island on a dangerous journey.
Something unexpected and perilous will crash into the island.
The citizens will have to build something they think is impossible—if they want everyone to survive.
FRED KOEHLER’s real-life misadventures include sunken boats, shark encounters, and getting caught in a hurricane. Whether free-diving in the Gulf of Mexico or backpacking across Africa, Fred’s sense of adventure and awe of nature overflow into his characters’ stories. He won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Award for his illustrations for One Day, The End. Garbage Island is his first novel. He lives with his wife and two spirited kids in Lakeland, Florida. Visit ilikefred.com.
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