Tindims Books in Order

The Tindims books are environmental adventures about tiny people who live on an island made from the things humans throw away. The Tindims call humans Long Legs, and while the Long Legs often create the rubbish problem, their discarded objects can also become useful materials in clever hands.

Rubbish Island floats in the sea. Its inhabitants turn bottles, tins, scraps, and other castoffs into homes, tools, boats, and treasures. Their motto is simple: what looks like rubbish today might become something valuable tomorrow.

The series begins with The Tindims of Rubbish Island. Readers meet Skittle, her pet Pinch, Captain Spoons, Brew, Mug, Jug, and the other islanders as they work, recycle, and look after the sea around them. When their friend Ethel B Dina is blown out to sea, the Tindims must mount a rescue mission with help from creatures beneath the waves.

They are small, resourceful, and very busy.

The larger problem is the amount of waste reaching the ocean, especially plastic. Bottle Mountain on Rubbish Island keeps growing, and the stories make clear that the Tindims’ ingenuity cannot solve everything alone. Their adventures encourage children to notice what is thrown away, think about reuse, and care about the animals sharing the sea.

That message is built into the story rather than delivered as a lecture. The books use jokes, eccentric names, inventions, songs, sea creatures, and practical problem-solving to keep the focus on adventure. The detailed illustrations also make the island feel like a place readers can explore, full of unexpected uses for everyday objects.

The series was created with illustrator Lydia Corry, Gardner’s daughter. That close collaboration shows in the way the characters, recycled objects, and island setting fit together. The books are especially suited to younger independent readers, with short chapters, plenty of pictures, and a dyslexia-friendly reading experience.

Each title has its own mission, but the shared setting and characters make it rewarding to read in order. Start with The Tindims of Rubbish Island to understand how the island works and meet its inventive residents. From there, the series grows into more sea-going rescues and conservation-minded adventures.

It is a warm, funny series with a useful idea at its center: small actions count, and imagination can turn a problem into the beginning of a solution.