Kids Book Club: Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J.H. Shapiro (July 2025)
Kid's Book Club meets at The Center every fourth Sunday of the month from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.
The program includes a book, a gallery tour, and an art-making project.
July's Book is Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J.H. Shapiro
About the Book:
Vacant lots. Abandoned houses. Trash--lots of trash. Heidelberg Street was in trouble!
Tyree Guyton loved his childhood home--that's where his grandpa Sam taught him to "paint the world." So he wanted to wake people up... to make them see Detroit's crumbling communities.
Paintbrush in hand, Tyree cast his artistic spell, transforming everyday junk into magic trash. Soon, local kids and families joined Tyree in rebuilding their neighborhood, discovering the healing power of art along the way.
This picture book biography of Tyree Guyton, an urban environmental artist, shows how he transformed his decaying, crime-ridden neighborhood into the Heidelberg Project, an interactive sculpture park. The story spans from Tyree's childhood in 1950s Detroit to his early efforts to heal his community through art in the 1980s. Tyree's awards include Michigan Artist of the Year and International Artist.
MAGIC TRASH offers strong themes of working together, the power of art, and the importance of inspiring community--especially kids--to affect action. The Heidelberg Project is internationally recognized for providing arts education to children and adults and for the ongoing development of several houses on Heidelberg Street. Not only does the Heidelberg Project prove that when a community works together it can rebuild itself, but it also addresses the issues of recycling, environmentalism, and community on a global level.
Click here for more information about the Kids Book Club at The Center.
Purchasing Details:
Family/Dual Member Level or higher: $20 for one child, includes one book. Additional children of the same family are free. Please choose the "additional child members only" ticket for each additional child.
Not yet members: $25 for one child, includes one book. $5 for each additional child. Please choose "additional child non-member ticket" for each additional child.