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by Donna M. Keefe (Author), Amber Leigh Luecke (Illustrator)
A courageous chipmunkel's journey from Spectacle Island during Boston's Big Dig
Specs of Spectacle Island: A story of an island from trash to treasure is the story of Specs, a chipmunkel born and raised on Spectacle Island, and his journey during the Big Dig. The chipmunkels, living on Spectacle Island, were forced to live underground to escape the construction and turmoil during the island's restoration. Annoyed with living underground, Specs leaves the island in search of a better life. He finds his way to Boston and makes friends with the mud rats who tell him about the Big Dig and the dirt getting shipped to some island in the harbor. Realizing it is Spectacle Island, he returns home, except the island no longer resembles the place he left.
Spectacle Island has a diverse and intriguing history. The transformation of the island that was once a garbage dump for the city of Boston leaking pollutants into Boston Harbor for 50 years is a remarkable reclamation of land from an environmental disaster. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known as the Big Dig, was one of the most inconceivable engineering feats and roadway construction projects in history. The celebrated Greenway and Zakim Bridge are both a result of the Big Dig. The story of Spectacle Island transformed from a city garbage dump polluting Boston Harbor into a national and state park is lesser-known.
