Here Comes the Garbage Barge
by Jonah Winter
Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state
Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter is assigned in US schools at grades 2–8. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Here Comes the Garbage Barge is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
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- Grade range
- Grades 2–8
- Age range
- Ages 7–13
- First published
- 2010
- Genre
- Realistic Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780375852183
More formats & details
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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About this book
In the spring of 1987, the town of Islip, New York, with no place for its 3,168 tons of garbage, loads it on a barge that sets out on a 162-day journey along the east coast, around the Gulf of Mexico, down to Belize, and back again, in search of a place willing to accept and dispose of its very smelly cargo.
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See all books like Here Comes the Garbage Barge→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Why widely assigned
This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 2–8. Written in the 2010s; pairs with curriculum units on voyages and travel and barges; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Themes
voyages and travel · barges · refuse and refuse disposal · history
Where this book is assigned
Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association)
- recommended·2nd grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·3rd grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·4th grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·5th grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·6th grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·7th grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
- recommended·8th grade · Michigansource: Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association) — Michigan's statewide children's-choice reading program (grades 2-82-34-): students read the annual nominees and vote for their favorite. Winner list verified from the award's published record.
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Common questions
- What grade level is Here Comes the Garbage Barge?
- Here Comes the Garbage Barge is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 2–8. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- What curricula assign Here Comes the Garbage Barge?
- Here Comes the Garbage Barge appears on reading lists for Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Here Comes the Garbage Barge banned in schools?
- Here Comes the Garbage Barge does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
- What themes does Here Comes the Garbage Barge explore?
- Central themes in Here Comes the Garbage Barge include voyages and travel, barges, refuse and refuse disposal, history. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.
Why this book is on this list
How we classifyHide
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 2–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.