The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Ecological Disasters

by Laura Perdew

Humanity's impact on the natural world can have disastrous effects. The Great Pacific Garbage Patchshines a light on the giant accumulation of garbage in the Pacific Ocean. With abundant charts and diagrams and large-format photos, this title explores the science behind ocean currents and plastic's chemical composition to explain the threat trash, especially plastic, poses for the world's oceans, and considers actions people and governments can take to try to improve the situation. Features include a flow chart showing the disaster's causes and effects, a glossary, references, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Library Binding

Published September 1, 2017

About the author

I am a mom, author, writing consultant, and former middle school teacher. I write fiction and nonfiction for kids, including over 30 books for the education market on a variety of topics including wetland conservation, renewable energy, extinction, and animal adaptations. BIODIVERSITY: EXPLORE THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE ON EARTH (Nomad Press, 2019) earned a starred review from Booklist and is a Junior Library Guild selection. My first fiction picture book is THE FORT (Page Street Kids, 2020). My goal is to inspire the next generation of conservationists through books.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit I found this book disturbibg. I remember going to beaches in Maine and Virginia when I was a kid, and there was sand and shells and seaweed and driftwood, but no garbage that I can recall. I shudder to think what these beaches look like today. Pedrew talks about huge patches of garbage, mostly plastic, floating in our oceans, fouling our beaches, and harming our wildlife. The pictures alone make me angry. So much of this could be recycled. In fact, she discusses various solutions to dealing with this problem, including an ingenious invention by a 17-year-old boy. While I found some of the information repetitious, I do think it bears repeating and re-emphasizing. Something needs to be done. One solution is to revert back to reusable food containers/packaging. In the 1950s we became a time-saving, throwaway society because of plastic. Was it worth it? Read this book and find out. Recommended.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super. Informative, interesting, and well-organized with stunning, thought-provoking photos and side bars. I learned a ton and literally could not put it down.