Written By: Meeg Pincus

Illustrated by: Lucy Semple

For Ages: 4-8 years

Language: English

Topics Covered: Environmental Activism, Sustainability, Nature, Ocean, Empowerment.

Summary: Hey everyone! When Sleeping Bear Press reached out about doing a cover reveal about a book that focused on environmentalism and sustainability, I was so excited! Here is what the publisher says about this forthcoming book:

Ocean Soup: A Recipe for You, Me, and a Cleaner Sea “is the story of a recipe for environmental disaster. From the surface, young readers may not realize how much plastic and debris is stewing deep at the bottom of the ocean– but there’s a lot. Tons and tons of it, in fact, that has built up after decades of man-made pollution and environmental negligence. This “plastic smog” threatens the ocean’s future, infecting marine creatures and ocean life, including the fish we humans eat.   

But there’s still time to turn it around! At the back of the book, a “Recipe of Hope” is given that instructs readers on the efforts they can make in their everyday lives to slow the boil of “ocean soup.” As a southern California native, author Meeg Pincus wrote this book in order to examine her own ecological choices. At the end, Meeg invites readers to join her and commit to do better by our oceans. This book releases just in time for Earth Day in March, and can be included in lessons on ecology and activism!”

I was also lucky enough to be able to ask author Meeg Pincus a question about the book, and I really wanted to know why she felt compelled to write this book! Here is her response: 
“I grew up near the beach and married a surfer (we now have two surfing kids), so I have a personal connection with the ocean and keeping it healthy. But, what really compelled me to write Ocean Soup was realizing that most young kids’ education about ocean plastic focuses on recycling and “cleaning it up.” 
Microplastics—broken-down plastics that have seeped into the world’s waters—can’t be cleaned up. (They’re what have created “Ocean Soup.”) And, while it’s good to recycle, recycling is not working as a main solution. Expert scientists say we must drastically reduce mass plastic production—in other words, we must be activists calling on plastic producers to change—to even make a dent in this huge problem, alongside our individual and community habits. 
I knew young children could understand the (really fascinating) science of ocean microplastics and the real needed solutions, if it all was presented to them in a kid-friendly manner. So, I set out to write that book for them.”

Ocean Soup will be released on March 15, 2021! The book is available for presale online and at Diesel Del Mar which is actually Meeg’s local independent bookstore. You can also check out more information on the Sleeping Bear website here.