wildlife rescue

World Oceans Day

Sophie Rosen , , ,

June 8th is World Oceans Day!

‘World Oceans Day’ was officially recognized, in 2008, by the United Nations General Assembly after a proposal, in 1992, by the Government of Canada.

 “Without water, our planet would be one of the billions of lifeless rocks floating endlessly in the vastness of the inky-black void.” – Fabien Cousteau, oceanographic explorer

Gerstein, Mordecai. The Boy and the Whale. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2017.
A young boy and his father rescue a whale tangled in their net in this life-affirming story based on a real-life event. The expressive illustrations, well-designed pages, and  smoothly flowing text combine to make this a wonderful picture book for children and young teenagers. 

“I spent uncounted hours sitting at the bow looking at the water and the sky, studying each wave, different from the last, seeing how it caught the light, the air, the wind; watching patterns, the sweep of it all, and letting it take me. The sea.” – Gary Paulsen, Caught by the Sea 

More ocean books

 Learn more about World Oceans Day!

Marino, Gianna. Following Papa’s Song. New York: Viking, 2014.  
Full-page illustrations colourfully illustrate this story about the migration of humpback whales. Recommended for children up to seven years of age.

“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.” – Rainer Maria Rilke, poet

A story of kindness

Sophie Rosen , , , ,

Spirin, Gennady. Martha. New York: Philomel Books, 2005.
This is the story of an injured bird who was rescued by a young boy on a cold snowy day. She could have died but instead she was given a home. And one day she was ready to fly again. The beautiful flow of the sentences in this story and the exquisite watercolour illustrations create a sense of timelessness. A sense that the story happened in the past but is still living on in the memories of the people who rescued the bird that could not fly.
This true story set in Moscow tells how Martha the crow became part of the author’s family for a brief time long ago. Highly recommended as a book to buy for animal lovers of all ages. 

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

More picture book memoirs HERE

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson