Such a cute children’s book! I loved the illustrations & the topic about recycling. It would make a great book for anyone wanting to teach their child or any child about the importance of recycling. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my daughter.

I received an ARC of “Marina: A Story About Plastics and the Environment” from NetGalley and Paw Prints Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Written by Jesse Byrd and illustrated by Andressa Meissner, this beautifully illustrated picture book is environmentally friendly. The book shows the journey of a plastic sandwich bag that once housed Marina’s sandwich, and that even though Marina properly threw the plastic bag into the trash, the bag returned—but not before it traveled through the ocean first.

There were a few minor issues with this PB. First, on at least one occasion, the author relied heavily on the illustrator to convey meaning. For example, the author didn’t name the alternative sandwich wrapping that Marina’s mother used. Instead, the illustrator included a roll of brown paper wrapping in the accompanying image. It would have helped if the author had actually included the name in the text.

Second, the text states that the new sandwich wrapping will feed “flowers and trees,” but the entire book is dedicated to how the sandwich wrapper, due to its lack of weight, flies off of the trash heap and ends up in the ocean. Since this is the case, the paper wrapping would have dissolved in the ocean and/or would have been consumed by wildlife. It may have been better if the author and illustrator would have recommended a reusable sandwich container instead of paper wrapping.

At the end of the book, I love how the author included several spreads, including Ocean Plastic Facts and Ocean Plastic Solutions. The author makes clear in the Solutions section that kids can use glasses and reusable cups, which is great. But it would have made more sense if they would have included some tips on using reusable sandwich containers (e.g., bento boxes, silicone, etc.).

A story with a great heart and a great message, but it required a few tweaks to be even better.

Marina loves the sandwich that her mom makes for her school lunch. After she devours it during her break, she throws the plastic wrapper away in the trashcan, as a good child should. Unknown to her, the wrapper is carried away by a gust of wind, and it goes through a long underwater journey before washing up on the very beach where Marina is having fun with her family. She sure is surprised to discover her labelled wrapper again!

Through the wrapper’s underwater journey, children will get to see many marine animals and how the strange plastic sheet bothers them. At the end of the book, there are some shocking facts related to marine plastic pollution.

The message of the story is a much-needed one. There are so many instances of single-use plastic that are totally avoidable but many continue to use them. (The one that I hate the most is plastic wrap.) The book highlights how plastic doesn’t really ‘go away’. It reiterates one fact that I had read a few years ago – every piece of plastic ever invented still exists. [Take a moment to let that sink in your head! It’s a disconcerting thought.] Alternate packaging methods are needed wherever possible, and we need to switch over fast.

At the same time, the book falls a little short of achieving its potential. It highlights how plastic wrappers add to the pollution, but it just mentions that Marina’s mom now chooses more planet-friendly alternatives. It would have been better to mention the alternatives so that children are aware of the environmentally-safe packaging options available.

Similarly, the book ends by Marina wondering what else she could do, and stops at that. There are only two solutions provided at the end of the book, and both are ocean-related and quite minor. One of the ‘solutions’ was, “When you see a piece of trash on the beach, put it in the right place.” However, the fact is that Marina had disposed of her sandwich wrapper the right way – it still didn’t help. The focus should not be just on right disposal but also on minimising usage, especially of single-use plastics. The book really missed out on an opportunity to reiterate the message with more practical, realistically implementable solutions. Just one tip of using a reusable cup isn’t enough.

The font, written in a clear CAPS style, is easy on the eyes, though I don’t know how some adult readers might feel about the all-CAPS approach. The vocabulary is quite simple for early readers, so the book would work nicely for 5-8 year olds.

The illustrations are quite cute. Marina is adorable with her genuine expressions, but even more striking are the underwater illustrations. The marine world sparkles on the page. I loved how the ocean creatures are shown indulging in human activities such as bathing or composing music – it was quite funny! However, the proportion of the plastic wrapper against the real-life size of the animals goes wrong at times, especially on the page with the blue whale.

(One thing I didn’t get: when almost all the marine animals were referred to by their species names such as octopus or crab, why was the shark the only creature with a human name - ‘Phil’? Weird!)

To sum up, great intent, good content. But it misses the chance to create an even greater impact. Nevertheless, still recommended. A small start towards better living habits is better than no start at all.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Baker & Taylor, Paw Prints Publishing, and NetGalley for the DRC of “Marina: A Story About Plastic and the Planet”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Good pictures and relatable story. Following an identifiable piece of trash lets little readers follow it through different undersea animals and the facts at the end are great.

This is the perfect book to begin a lesson on pollution. Not only does it trace a plastic bag through the world, but it teaches kids how to live more sustainably by making small changes. The back matter has some fascinating but sad facts about plastic pollution.

The messaging in Marina, that plastic not only doesn't always make it to the garbage dump/get recycled but also doesn't break down is incredibly important. I think it is a rather big jump that the same little girl would find her trash again another day in another location, but it certainly makes the concept easy to understand for children. Would definitely read over and over with my kids and would recommend it for any classroom! The illustrations are beautiful, too.

Thank you to Baker & Taylor, Paw Prints Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC!

Such a good book to showing that we need to protect our ocean. Even we can start from a small step, reducing plastic uses. I love the illustration, i think it will catch the kids attention.

I loved this book! I read this to my younger cousins aged 4 and 8 and they both seemed to grasp the concept of plastic and our environment easily through the message the book entitled. The images helped draw a clear picture for my 8 year old cousin and even inspired me as an adult about more we can do for ourselves and others
Recommend this to everyone

With a focus on the environment and reducing plastic use, this book is about the amazing ocean and how to protect it. The adorable illustrations are fun and engaging. Plenty of great lessons for kids to learn. This story was both entertaining and educational, which can be a tricky balance to maintain in a children’s book, and I will be suggesting it to teachers whenever possible. Incorporating educational topics such as this into children's picture books is a tried and true way to teach important facts and life skills in a way that is fun. This would be an amazing addition for classrooms, libraries and more.

Thank you to Netgalley for an E-ARC of this really cute little tale.

Marina: A Story about Plastic and the Planet tells the story of a sandwich bag that goes on an adventure from a little girl's lunch box all the way to the depths on the ocean and back to find her on the beach. It's a harrowing example showing the way that plastic doesn't break down as easily as paper products and just how much plastic trash ends up littering our beaches.

I read it to my niece but I don't know if she fully understood the impact of the story but she's only 6 so I think given time she'll see the impact her decisions make on the world.

This book is beautifully made. Not only do we learn through the story how plastic gets into the ocean and disturbs a lot of sealife, but it also gives information about ocean pollution and tips on how to make the ocean a little bit more plastic free. I think this book is a great way to teach kids about the plastic soup and to help parents and or educators talk to children about plastic and what we should and shouldn't do.
The book has a few small printing errors, where pictures are printed on top of each other or a word is misplaced in a sentence, but those are easily fixed before the book actually gets published.
I would highly recommend this book! It's beautifully made and the message is very clear.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a story about a piece of plastic that was originally used to wrap a sandwich for a school lunch going on an ocean adventure before being recovered by the girl who originally threw it away. She is confused because she always throws her trash away and asks her parents about it and learns that plastic doesn't decompose, so they decide to stop using plastic for her lunches. There are additional facts about plastic and our oceans at the end of the story.

The illustrations were bright and colorful and the pics for the plastic's ocean adventure were fun and imaginative. They'll definitely grab the attention of young children. I think this is a book with a message that most everyone should pay attention to, but I don't know that we'll ever get away from utilizing single use plastics. I wouldn't have a problem reading this book a few times though, because the message is important. Overall I give this book 4.13 out of 5 stars.

This is a great book to help show children the consequences of using too much plastic and waste. Of course, it’s not always possible to go 100% plastic free, but that doesn’t mean we can’t eliminate things such as plastic bags and plastic wrap. This book will open the minds of children and help them start coming up with alternatives to their plastic uses and help make an impact, even if it’s small, on taking care of our earth. The illustrations will draw their attention and show them the different ways plastic and trash can negatively impact our earth. This might even encourage them to want to start picking up trash they find at their own beaches and parks in their own communities. I think this book, and similar ones, are so important. Teaching our young children the importance of taking care of our planet might be the most impactful thing we as adults can do to save our earth. If we can raise a generation that loves and respects their home, then we might have hope for a cleaner planet in the future.

Marina: A Story about Plastic and the Planet Story by Jesse Byrd; Illustrated by Andressa Meissner
Marina likes her lunch; well, it’s the best in the whole world. Her mom wraps it up for her in plastic, writes Marina’s name on it and puts stars on it. At school, Marina can’t wait for lunchtime, but when it comes, she dances with delight at her food. Then she flips the plastic wrap into the trash.
Her plastic wrap goes to the dump but gets caught in the wind and lands in the ocean, causing no end of irritation to a multitude of sea creatures. One day at the seashore with her parents, Marina is startled to see her plastic lunch wrapper on the beach.
Byrd’s story of travels of this plastic wrapper is used to give children an understanding of the durability and dangers of plastic, which, unfortunately, often ends up in the ocean. Meissner’s illustrations are an explosion of engaging colors. Conveniently, at the end of the book are a lot of facts about plastic waste in the ocean and the evidence of its impact on sea animals and birds.
Young readers can easily get through the story part, but parents may prefer to read the facts at the end.
Takeaway: Marina is an enjoyable and educational children’s book which teaches valuable lessons about plastic pollution in the ocean.

A beautifully illustrated educational book. This book teaches such an important message of why we need to take better care of the earth and actions that will make a difference. A must read!

Thanks to Netgalley and PAW Prints Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute book about taking care of our planet. I love all the ocean animals and the fact that there are facts in the back of the book

Perfect colourful book to show the kids where our plastic wrappers/ plastic materials usually end up at and how it affects the lives around us, specifically the lives in the oceans.

The change should come from each of us no matter the age and the backgrounds. I find the storytelling very interesting and pleasant with the most amazing illustrations! Also, check out the bonus pages towards the end. It has best facts and practical solutions on how to deal with the problem.

A must have recommendation.

Thank you, PAW Prints Publishing, for the advance reading copy.

This book is an excellent resource for introducing children to the subject of plastic pollution in the ocean. It tells an engaging story and features charming illustrations.

This is a lovely illustrated book that shows how plastic can effect sea animals and the planet.
Love this book and can't wait to display it and put it out in the library.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

After eating her lunch, Marina throws away her plastic wrapper, thinking nothing else of it. However, her plastic doesn't go away and goes on an unfortunate journey through the ocean. When she sees it wash ashore, she decides to start making changes to help the planet.

A cute book that teaches children about the problems with plastic for oceans.