Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Genres
Publication
Big Picture Press (2020), Edition: Illustrated, 32 pages
Description
Alba the fish has spent her entire life collecting precious objects that drift down to the ocean floor. From delicate shells to brightly colored coral, each year on her birthday she gathers one more precious item. But over the years, Alba notices her collection is losing its sparkle and that the world is changing. There is trash everywhere! When, on her birthday hunt, something unthinkable happens, it seems like the plastic may have changed her ocean home forever. Is it too late?
User reviews
LibraryThing member melodyreads
Beautiful, detailed, interesting pictures.
Heavy adult ocean clean-up message that will be hard for sensitive kids.
Heavy adult ocean clean-up message that will be hard for sensitive kids.
LibraryThing member nbmars
This picture book for children three and up begins, “There was once a small, quiet town that overlooked a brilliant blue ocean.” We then meet Alba, a bright orange reef fish in that water, who is fascinated by all the trash she finds, thinking it must be “treasure.” But she gets stuck
Kaia organized the whole town to work together “to clean up the mess they had made.” Bit by bit, the sea began to get safer again for the creatures who lived in it. Kaia then felt it was okay to release Alba, who went back to her reef, “which was becoming busy and bright again.”
A closing double-page spread gives thumbnail descriptions of some of the creatures (“Alba’s ocean friends”) shown in the reef pictures. One additional page provides simple tips on “Taking Care of Our Oceans,” such as “Avoid using plastic products.”
The author, who is also the illustrator, uses stylized art work with bright colors, albeit with the unfortunate choice of printing at least half the text on a dark blue background, making it hard to read.
Evaluation: The rescue by Kaia is extremely unrealistic, as are some of the tips which are not really geared to the very young intended audience, such as “Never pour harmful chemicals down the drain.” Nevertheless, the story may help kids to understand that their actions and choices have consequences they may not have considered, and that it is good to think of others besides themselves.
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inside a plastic bottle. Fortunately the bottle washes up on shore and is discovered by a little girl named Kaia who helps Alba get out of the bottle. But Kaia is dismayed by all the trash in the water, and declares “We’ve got to clean this up.”Kaia organized the whole town to work together “to clean up the mess they had made.” Bit by bit, the sea began to get safer again for the creatures who lived in it. Kaia then felt it was okay to release Alba, who went back to her reef, “which was becoming busy and bright again.”
A closing double-page spread gives thumbnail descriptions of some of the creatures (“Alba’s ocean friends”) shown in the reef pictures. One additional page provides simple tips on “Taking Care of Our Oceans,” such as “Avoid using plastic products.”
The author, who is also the illustrator, uses stylized art work with bright colors, albeit with the unfortunate choice of printing at least half the text on a dark blue background, making it hard to read.
Evaluation: The rescue by Kaia is extremely unrealistic, as are some of the tips which are not really geared to the very young intended audience, such as “Never pour harmful chemicals down the drain.” Nevertheless, the story may help kids to understand that their actions and choices have consequences they may not have considered, and that it is good to think of others besides themselves.
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Language
Original language
English
Physical description
11.31 inches
ISBN
1536210447 / 9781536210446