Janitors School of Garbage

by Tyler Whitesides

Overview

Ordinary trash becomes extraordinary at the magical School of Garbage—a summer school for young garbologists.

Garbage has come to life as animated creatures called junklets are wreaking havoc in elementary schools. Only the specially trained kids from the magical School of Garbage can stop the rise of the trash monsters. With the school's magical janitorial supplies—brooms that can fly, toilet plungers that can reverse gravity, and mops that can capture anything in their strings—the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Landon Murphy discovers the undercover janitorial world when his soon-to-be stepsister, Jade Shu, guides him through a magical portal at the bottom of a dumpster that leads to a fantastical landfill and the home of the School of Garbage, where she has secretly been a student for the last few years.

Problems at home with his family make it hard for Landon to feel like he belongs anywhere, but he is quickly welcomed as a student at the intriguing school for wizard-like janitors. His class on the science of garbology is like being a crime-scene investigator, and every student gets to bond with one of three Servites—small, magical animals who exhale enchanted dust to help kids focus or be creative or have energy.

Landon and Jade—along with their allies from the original series—are tasked to take out the trash and figure out who—or what—is behind the mysterious garbage attacks and stop them before the entire world is literally trashed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639931682
Publisher:	Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Series:	Janitors School of Garbage , #1
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	254,894
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Tyler Whitesides once worked part-time at a middle school as a night custodian. Wandering the halls each night sparked the ideas which led to the Janitors series. As an author, Tyler has presented in many states, speaking to more than 700 schools across the country. He loves music and the great outdoors. He lives in northern Utah with his two sons.
 

Editorial Reviews

Gold Award Recipient

Mom's Choice Awards

Mom's Choice Awards Gold Award Recipient

From the Publisher

2023-06-08
Students trained in the use of magic janitorial tools face giant trash monsters in this series opener set in the world of Whitesides’ popular Janitors series.

Mopping up terrifying monsters as part of the crew of a weaponized garbage truck is just one of the highlights of the summer before sixth grade for Landon Murphy after he reluctantly teams up with his weird stepsister-to-be, Jade Shu, and snotty know-it-all classmate, Sabra Malik, at a school located in a seemingly endless landfill (“I think we’re somewhere in Texas”). There, along with learning how to put pushbrooms, plungers, and like implements to decidedly unconventional uses, he and his teammates sweep up clues to the reasons behind a sudden rash of massive trash attacks in the outside world on the way to disposing of a fiendish threat. Returning fans will welcome some familiar characters—including supposedly vanquished villains—as well as more janitor gags to wince at (“What did the janitor say when he jumped out of the closet?” “Supplies!”) and desperate struggles aplenty with towering assemblages of animated detritus. Whitesides buries a subplot involving Landon’s feelings about his dad’s upcoming remarriage and leaves the end of the climactic battle offstage. Still, the stepsibs do end up more closely bonded, and there’s more than enough gross, slimy action before the finale to sweep readers along. Landon reads white; names cue some diversity in the cast.

Garbage in…gold—or at least a few sweepings of gold dust—out. (reading guide) (Fantasy. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews