Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species

Cleverbeguiling.Readers age 11 and older are likely to finish this book feeling both persuaded and uplifted. Beauty has a way of doing that.
Wall Street Journal

For young readers comes an imaginative guide to ocean plastics, filled with tips and tricks for identifyingand combatingpollution in our oceans.

Inspired by biologist AnaPêgos lifes work, and filled with engaging science and colorful photographs, this foundational look at plastic pollution in the ocean explains why it is such an urgent contemporary issue.

When she was young, Ana Pêgo didnt play in a backyard, but on a beach. She walked along the shore, looked at tide pools, and collected fossils. As she grew older, Pêgo noticed a new species at the seaside: plastic. She decided to collect it, study it, and give it a Latin namePlasticus maritimusto warn people of its dangers to our planet.

Pêgo tells us how plastics end up in our rivers, lakes, and oceans, shares plastics chemical composition and physical properties, and offers a field guide to help readers identify and understand this new invasive species in all its forms, from the obvious (fishing nets and water bottles) to the unfamiliar (tiny, clear particles called microplastics). Finally, she offers a critical look at our current solutions to plastic contamination and in her most important proposalREVOLUTIONIZEcalls for deep changes in our habits, motivating young and old alike to make a difference, together. An artificial and almost indestructible species, Plasticus maritimus deserves to have its days numbered! Together, we can send it packing.

A cleverly conceived and comprehensive introduction to a serious issue.Kirkus Reviews

Honorable MentionBologna Ragazzi Award

Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.

See more