Bella Saves the Beach

Nancy Stewart has done it again.

Like her earlier books, the newest one shows that even kids can make a positive difference in the world.

In Bella Saves the Beach the characters from Stewart's award winning book One Pelican at a Time return to tackle another problem with the environment. Even the pelican they rescued from the Gulf oil spill in the previous book appears again and is seen in the charming illustrations by Samantha Bell.

In this new book Bella is disturbed by the trash thrown around on the beach. She and her friend, Britt, try several ways to solve that problem but none of them work. What can they do?

Finally the girls find a way to get others involved and the problem is solved.

After the story ends there's lots of helpful information for young readers about environmental problems and things they can do to make a difference. I think many kids and maybe some adults will be inspired by this book to help make their own worlds better.

Sea Turtle Summer

Two girls on a beach are amazed to watch an endangered Loggerhead sea turtle lay her eggs, although they usually only do that at night.

But a big machine is coming to clear the beach and no ranger is available. Can the children manage to protect the eggs?

Sea Turtle Summer by Nancy Stewart is part of the series about Bella and Britt, the two girls who were also the main characters in Stewart's best-selling book, One Pelican at a Time, about the Gulf Oil Spill. Like that prior book, this one not only helps readers learn to appreciate our natural world, it shows them that even kids can make a positive difference in the world by standing up for what is right.

The illustrations by Samantha Bell carry us away to the sunny beach and show us what the endangered turtles really look like.

This is another book that would make a great gift for kids.

Maurice Sendak

During all the years I taught preschool and read picture books to the kids one book stood out from all the rest as the most popular. Except for one little girl who was afraid of the monsters, every child loved Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

I guess every little kid has misbehaved and had nightmares so they could all identify with the story, which is just scary enough to be exciting but has a comforting ending.

I recently learned that a new book by Maurice Sendak will be published soon. It will be called Bumble-Ardy and is based on something Sendak, who is now 83 years old, once wrote for Sesame Street. Will it be as good ads Where the Wild Things Are? We'll have to wait and see.

I learned about Bumble-Ardy on Nancy Stewart's blog and you can find out more about it by following this link:

http://tinyurl.com/3ockjnw

One Pelican at a Time

Nancy Stewart's book, One Pelican at a Time, has already won some awards although it was only published a few months ago. It's about two girls, Britt and Bella, who discover a pelican covered by oil from the Gulf Oil spill and help to save it. The girls wisely got help from adults, but what they did themselves mattered a lot.

I asked the author, who lives in Florida near the Gulf of Mexico, what influence her own experience after the famous disaster had on writing this book. Here's what she told me:

"Our condo is on Clearwater Beach, a part of Tampa Bay. Fortunately, we did not have any oil spill residue. But just being a part of the gulf community was enough to be impacted emotionally. We love it and respect the marine life found there, so it wasn't any stretch of the imagination to empathize. Because of this and coupled with all the live shots of the oil spurting from the well and at the surface, the book was a natural. In fact, Lynda Burch, my publisher and I thought the book was crying out to be written. So I wrote it."

The book is well written and the lovely illustrations by Samantha Bell convey the story perfectly. Kids who read it will enjoy discovering what two children like themselves were able to do to make a difference in the world. I hope a lot of readers will be inspired to make a difference themselves. I asked Nancy Stewart for some suggestions and she said, "I believe the things to do with kids that will have the most impact are things they can really do. Every day. Things such as: turn off water while brushing teeth (three gallons used each time we don't), turn off lights when leaving a room, (I always tell little ones in school visits, each time they turn off a light they are helping save a polar bear), take short showers and unplug appliances after using them. And there are so many more. In fact, I have a power point I made as a presenter at the Illinois Reading Council Conference in March. It's on my website for anyone to use. It's called, Let's Help Kids Save Our Planet. If anyone wants it, s/he is free to use it.

The web address is: www.nancystewartbooks.com

My blog site is: http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

I believe many young readers will be inspired by this book to make a difference in the world.