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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Read it in 10 minutes. A cute book. Good introduction to coral reef destruction for kids. Start those activists when they’re young. The art style is adorable. Took off a star because it’s not that exciting, but loved the book.
This book accomplishes a lot using gorgeous illustrations and not very many words. I especially appreciate how sophisticated the concepts were, yet they are communicated with very few words. That's perfect for an ESL student!
What were the concepts communicated? For example, the bounty of the sea is not limitless. Or even though individual actions to save the planet don't amount to much -- we should still do them.
The story is lovingly told with magical realism. Just as Lana, the child protagonist in the story misses her mother (her guardian) she sees clearly the role she can play as guardian to the sea. Indeed, this vision of how she can help strengthens her resolve and she becomes an advocate for environmental stewardship within her own family.
One unexplored thread in the book is Lana's aunt flicks her cigarette on the ground. Cigarette butts are the number one source of plastic pollution on beaches. The book doesn't call the Aunt out for this specific action leaving that behavior unchallenged. Because smoking is a viral activity started via family and friends, being more overt in communicating the damage caused by that littering behavior in the book could have been useful.
This book gently prepares the young reader for the loss of fish that will occur in the future. Commercially-fished species are expected to be extinct by 2050. The book also explains the challenges coral reefs are facing.
What other children's literature also communicates the idea that the planet has limits?
What were the concepts communicated? For example, the bounty of the sea is not limitless. Or even though individual actions to save the planet don't amount to much -- we should still do them.
The story is lovingly told with magical realism. Just as Lana, the child protagonist in the story misses her mother (her guardian) she sees clearly the role she can play as guardian to the sea. Indeed, this vision of how she can help strengthens her resolve and she becomes an advocate for environmental stewardship within her own family.
One unexplored thread in the book is Lana's aunt flicks her cigarette on the ground. Cigarette butts are the number one source of plastic pollution on beaches. The book doesn't call the Aunt out for this specific action leaving that behavior unchallenged. Because smoking is a viral activity started via family and friends, being more overt in communicating the damage caused by that littering behavior in the book could have been useful.
This book gently prepares the young reader for the loss of fish that will occur in the future. Commercially-fished species are expected to be extinct by 2050. The book also explains the challenges coral reefs are facing.
What other children's literature also communicates the idea that the planet has limits?
If I am right, this was published after [b:The Tea Dragon Society|34895950|The Tea Dragon Society (Tea Dragon, #1)|Katie O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585566949l/34895950._SX50_.jpg|52579959] which I really enjoyed. Aquicorn Cove tells the story of a young girl and her father meeting an aunt who lives along the coast to help her and the community repair their land from a recent storm. Whilst there, Lana begins to find out more about the death of her mother (lost at sea) but also the gradual decline of the ocean's health too. Whilst storms continue to rage, the cove continues to lose its sense of inherited identity. Can Lana make the right choices and safe both the world above ground and that beneath it too?
O'Neill's artwork is always a delight but I felt that with this installation that it wasn't as well-polished as Tea Dragon and wondered whether it was an earlier project brought to the physical page. Panels are often on white background and sometimes feel detached: this is not to take anything away from some of the beautiful 'shots' presented. In terms of narrative, there are a few story-within-a-story moment and I felt they jumped a little - I got the sense that O'Neill was still learning the craft.
Yet there is no denying that the message of oceanic preservation is tenderly done and that the illustrations will delight any young reader. I'd rate the story as 8+ and was so pleased to see allusions to some same-sex relationships as well as mixed-race relationships. All done, as with Tea Dragon Society, without ever feeling the need to be explicit.
O'Neill's artwork is always a delight but I felt that with this installation that it wasn't as well-polished as Tea Dragon and wondered whether it was an earlier project brought to the physical page. Panels are often on white background and sometimes feel detached: this is not to take anything away from some of the beautiful 'shots' presented. In terms of narrative, there are a few story-within-a-story moment and I felt they jumped a little - I got the sense that O'Neill was still learning the craft.
Yet there is no denying that the message of oceanic preservation is tenderly done and that the illustrations will delight any young reader. I'd rate the story as 8+ and was so pleased to see allusions to some same-sex relationships as well as mixed-race relationships. All done, as with Tea Dragon Society, without ever feeling the need to be explicit.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated