A girl named Sukara is at the beach and discovers a mermaid who is upset about the damage that plastic is wreaking on her home. She is distraught and crying. Then, to her horror, the mermaid discovers that even her tears are plastic. She shows Sukara what is happening in the ocean because of plastic pollution. Sukara starts crying, and they discover something magical about humans that can save the oceans. Sukara embarks on a quest to share what she knows. A Cry for the Ocean was written 5 years ago when I read about the plastic collecting in the ocean in the gyres. I was shocked to see what we were doing to our ocean. I researched the subject more, and wanted to write a story about what I discovered. The spark that created this story was when I read that 'Mermaids' Tears' is a term beachcombers use to describe the tiny pieces of plastic that result from weathered, larger pieces of plastic. Recently, the sad situation in the oceans has become much more publicized, and I'm happy to see the momentum gathering to prevent plastic from being produced and thrown away at the current rate. I hope this story inspires everyone to know that once we care enough about saving the ocean, we are one step away from making that a reality. And yes, we should shed a few tears along the way! I hope this book will raise awareness of the plight of the ocean, and create more hope that we have it within ourselves to repair the damage we have done. Working with incredibly talented illustrator Tamara Piper, this is a beautiful picture book with colourful and touching illustrations. Accompanying the book is a collection of teaching resources and activities for teachers and parents.

Life itself could never have been sustainable without seabirds. As Adam Nicolson writes: "They are bringers of fertility, the deliverers of life from ocean to land." A global tragedy is unfolding. Even as we are coming to understand them, the number of seabirds on our planet is in freefall, dropping by nearly 70% in the last sixty years, a billion fewer now than there were in 1950. Of the ten birds in this book, seven are in decline, at least in part of their range. Extinction stalks the ocean and there is a danger that the grand cry of the seabird colony, rolling around the bays and headlands of high latitudes, will this century become little but a memory. Seabirds have always entranced the human imagination and NYT best-selling author Adam Nicolson has been in love with them all his life: for their mastery of wind and ocean, their aerial beauty and the unmatched wildness of the coasts and islands where every summer they return to breed. The seabird’s cry comes from an elemental layer in the story of the world. Over the last couple of decades, modern science has begun to understand their epic voyages, their astonishing abilities to navigate for tens of thousands of miles on featureless seas, their ability to smell their way towards fish and home. Only the poets in the past would have thought of seabirds as creatures riding the ripples and currents of the entire planet, but that is what the scientists are seeing now today.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Why do sea turtles look like they are crying? Come along on an underwater adventure and have fun learning the special things about sea creatures that help them survive in the ocean.

Juniper Sawfeather is choosing which college to attend after graduation from West Olympia High School next year. She wants to go to San Diego to be far away from her environmental activist parents. They expect her to think the way they do, but having to be constantly fighting causes makes it difficult to be an average 17 year old high school student. Why do her parents have to be so out there? Everything changes when she and her father rush to the beach after a reported oil spill. As they document the damage, June discovers three humans washed up on the beach, struggling to breathe through the oil coating their skin. At first she thinks they must be surfers, but as she gets closer, she realizes these aren't human at all. They're mermaids Now begins a complex story of intrigue, conspiracy and manipulation as June, her parents, a marine biologist and his handsome young intern, her best friend, the popular clique at school and the oil company fight over the fate of the mermaids.

"Them that's gone through it are them that knows." In a life layered by tragedy and loss, Catherine Linehan's ingrained response is to put one foot in front of the other and not succumb to grief. For the mother of ten children, five of whom perished in a house fire, this means "making some kind of best" out of the rest of her life. If I Cry I'll Fill the Ocean is the story of how tears of cleansing and forgiveness were sacrificed to keep memories alive and sanity in reach. This kind of courage only exists in the hearts and souls of those who have endured the unendurable. Set in North Harbour, Newfoundland, this is one woman's true story of fortitude and love.

A poem written and illustrated by Bonnielynn Brankey, who as an avid scuba diver, is seeing the oceans deteriorate from overuse, overfishing and poor industrial choices.