Bluefish & the Three Rs Plan
Rather than just preach to children, this book gives them tangible ways that they too can beautify Mother Earth.
The perfect picture book to share on Earth Day and beyond, Ranya Rafiq Malouf’s Bluefish & the Three Rs Plan shows kids in an easy-to-understand way how they can be involved in helping the environment. Young children will love following the adventures of Sara the bluefish as she meets some new friends, and parents and teachers can use the book to teach the value of reducing, reusing, and recycling.
A magician has given Sara wings, and she’s using them to explore the world. One day, she lands in Italy and meets two boys, Nate and Lane. After breaking the ice (for one, about how Sara the fish can fly), they begin talking about all the trash they see on the ground and in the Rubicon River and how it affects animals like sea turtles. Soon, they come up with an idea to educate the town’s residents, encourage them to reuse what they can, and put their Three Rs Plan into action.
With few words on each page, a large font, and a simple-to-follow plot, Bluefish & the Three Rs Plan is a book that kids will have no problem reading independently. However, since Malouf wisely includes examples of how items can be reused (an empty plastic bottle can be a flower pot, old cans can turn into bird feeders), this would make an ideal read-aloud to be followed immediately by a relevant craft.
The large illustrations by Jim DeLapine and beautiful coloring by Bob Stuhmer add much to the progression of the storyline. Children read the text and look at the pictures for reinforcement to understand exactly what’s happening.
Bluefish & the Three Rs Plan teaches a lesson that everyone can live by. But rather than just preach to children, it offers tangible ways to beautify Mother Earth.
Reviewed by
Kelly Thunstrom
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
