Oceanly, an "I Love You" Book

It’s here! Oceanly by Lynn Parrish Sutton, illustrated by the very generous Hazel Mitchell, from whom I won the book and who included the swimming seals artwork as a bonus.

It's been awhile since I've written here. Now that fall is near, I'm back to business. I'd like to introduce you to a "love"ly new book. Here's my review from Goodreads:

Oceanly by Lynn Parrish Sutton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's a beautiful addition to the canon of "I love you" children's picture books, which make for great gift-giving, lap-reading, and bedtime reading. Author Lynn Parris Sutton's creative, rhyming text begins each sentence with "I love you" followed by an adverb followed by something ocean-related. For example, "I love you splashily like the spout of a whale./I love you flexibly like a seahorse's tail." Illustrator Hazel Mitchell's illustrations complete the story, depicting diverse people and accurate drawings of all things oceanly. I especially like the "joyful" seals whirling in the water, and the boy sitting by the ocean, holding a book while he leans on his golden retriever. This "I love you" book extends beyond the very young child, as it offers opportunities for learning about the ocean environment and fun with language.

I'm thankful to Hazel Mitchell, from whom I won a complimentary copy.


View all my reviews

I Love You Oceanly is available from online bookstores and from your local Usborne Books and More representative.

Earth Day Every Day: Happy National Poetry Month!

Paula, a scientist, is always thinking of ways to be kinder to the planet. Here's one offering: 

Volt

Goes 50 miles on just the electric

People ask, where is it charged? 

It can be done in your garage

Unplug the car, away you go

Forget the gas; it isn’t low

For the electric encourage more miles,

Build more plugs—the reward is smiles.

                                    ~Paula Struckman

I regularly play over at poet David L. Harrison’s Word of the Month poem. This month’s word is “earth.” My acrostic entry is below, and you can go to this page to see the others. Leave one of your own if you like!

Our Only Planet

Environmental

Acts of kindness

Reflect

Tender care of our

Home

        ~Jane Heitman Healy

The Promise of Trees

The Promise is an amazing first-person fable by nature writer Nicola Davies about the importance of keeping a promise and how having a positive purpose can change one's life. The illustrations by Laura Carlin enhance the text, as they change from black and white to color as the main character's promise is fulfilled. Change does not happen overnight; patience is required. The underlying message of "if you don't like it, change it" empowers readers of all ages, and encourages all of us to leave a positive legacy. 

My favorite line from the book: "I held a forest in my arms, and my heart was changed." 

This picture book will be most appreciated by older children through adults. In fact, it is on the reading list for my church women's reading program in the Social Action category.

(photo taken at McCrory Gardens in Brookings, SD)

This tale of hope and environmentalism was inspired by Jean Giono's 1953 story, L’homme qui plantait des arbres, (The Man Who Planted Trees.)  I don't read French, but I have seen the video and recommend it to you. 

Recycling Rewards

Airlines, credit cards, and stores of all kinds offer rewards for frequent business. Why not recycling? What? Yes, you heard right--recycling!

Few people think of South Dakota as a recycling hot bed, yet our sanitation service is one of several in the country offering rewards for recycling (in addition to the intrinsic reward of being kind to the environment). A September 27 Newsweek story explains, and quotes Bob Novak, owner of Novak Sanitation, our service.

We only recently began to rack up reward points. The company brought us a recycle bin much larger than our garbage bin. Recycle pickup is every two weeks, with garbage pickup every week. Since so much can be recycled (all kinds of paper & cardboard, plastics #1-7, cans of aluminum, tin, and steel, and glass), we have less and less trash.
Eventually, we will earn enough reward points to eat out for free at local restaurants or get free merchandise at local stores. And we can recycle the packaging to earn more points. Sounds as if everyone wins on this deal, including Mother Earth. Why not ask if your sanitation service will do the same?