Alba and the Ocean Cleanup by Lara Hawthorne
ISBN: 1536210447
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads

Alba loves to collect beautiful things, but as the years pass, she notices fewer and fewer beautiful things and more and more trash. When she’s washed ashore in a bottle, a young girl organizes an ocean cleanup to restore the ecosystem.

This story has a good message, it’s just not conveyed in a very engaging way. I like that it teaches kids about the need to avoid plastic use and to clean up the ocean, but the story itself just falls a bit flat. The illustrations are colorful and engaging so that may help hold attention longer. The back pages have information about some of the fish species encountered in the story as well as about how to help keep the ocean clean. Recommended for children 4 and up.

Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME