Review: Ori’s Clean-Up by Anne Helen Donnelly

#OrisCleanUp #BlogTour #BooksOnTour #Day2

Thanks for joining in on this blog tour with a very important message at heart. 🐙🐬🐡🐟🐠

Blurb: Ori the Octopus and his friends have left their rubbish everywhere. They tidy up, but it doesn’t work. To keep their home clean and healthy, they need to do something different, something better.

Endorsed by Clean Up Australia; “Sharing Ori’s tale with our children reminds us all that we are never too young to take action when we see something we want to change…”

Review: Ori’s Clean-Up, Anne Helen Donnelly (author, illus.), Anne Helen Donnelly, July 2018.

Ori the octopus and his ocean friends learn a valuable lesson in keeping their underwater neighbourhood rubbish-free in this action-filled, illuminating and amiable tale.

This highly prominent and significant topic is raising awareness across the nation and the world. It is no secret that our oceans are filled with garbage, and the statistics and images are quite shocking. Plenty of talk around the reduction of plastic supermarket bags, for example, is reaching our children’s ears, but there is plenty more we can do. Anne Donnelly’s book, Ori’s Clean-Up, is a valuable segway for discussing the real issues of waste, pollution and the harmful effects on marine life.

Plenty of pictorial detail depict the array of everyday litter left across the sea bed when Ori makes his shameful discovery. A big effort in teamwork is made to tidy the papers, containers, bags, food scraps, books and glass bottles. But simply stacking them in piles is not the solution. “…one week later, there was rubbish everywhere!” With a more considered approach, Ori encourages the others to recycle, reuse, reduce, compost and donate all of the unwanted items. The ocean floor shines with vast sandy spaces, colour and freedom of gliding fish and turtles that emanates a sense of calm and uncluttered restoration.

The gentle repetition and engaging interactive text brings a joyful buoyancy to this important story under the sea, complimenting the upbeat and clean-line look of the vibrant, child-friendly cartoon illustrations. Donnelly has weaved in appropriate images and symbols, as well as explicit environmental language and actions that young readers will readily identify with in their everyday life.

Ori’s Clean-Up is well-presented and clearly organised to inspire preschool-aged readers to carefully consider how they will make a positive impact on their environment and to the world around us.

Review by Romi Sharp.

Anne Donnelly: website | facebook | instagram

Clean Up Australia: website

Swim over to the Shelf Aware blog for a wonderful interview with Anne.

Clean Up with Ori for a Chance to WIN!

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