Back when dumps were called dumps, not landfills or
recycling center, way up . . . in the small village
of Shiretown, Maine, Mr. Pottle was the dump man.
He certainly would answer if someone called him by his
real names, Bill or Mr. Pottle. But must folks just called
him the dump man. He didn’t mind. That was his job,
and he loved it.
And, oh, the treasures he’d find!
Best of all were the books.
Mr. Pottle waggled his finger. “Shame, shame! Books are
treasures. You don’t throw away treasures!”
But people did throw away books so Mr. Pottle started a dump library–letting people borrow or keep books. In no time, the shelves to the dump library were overflowing so the dump man needed a new plan. He wheeled a wobbly old grocery cart around town–to nursing homes, back-alley apartments, even along the riverbank where the homeless folks slept–giving away books, books, and more books. But early one Saturday morning on the busiest dump day of the week, Mr. Pottle was nowhere to be found. The kids set out on their bikes to find him. And they did, but he was in trouble. Find out what happened to the dump man and his books and his poignant surprise at the end of the story.
