Ocean Soup: A Recipe for You, Me, and a Cleaner Sea
Author: Meeg Pincus
Illustrator: Lucy Semple
15 March 2021
Sleeping Bear Press
40 pages
Book description from Goodreads: “From the shore, the ocean looks like clear, sparkling blue but look closely at a small scoop and you’ll find the ocean looks more like soup! Our oceans are filled with plastics, from water bottles and take-out containers to the teeny tiny plastic particles you need a microscope to see. But who exactly cooked up this stinky soup? And, more importantly, what is the recipe for getting (and keeping) our oceans clean? This bouncing, rhyming story pulls no punches about how we ended up in this sticky mess but also offers hope and help for cleaning up this ocean soup.”
Need some reviews of Ocean Soup?
As a bonus, here’s a mini-interview with the author from the website First Draft to Final Book.
Educational Activities inspired by Meeg Pincus’ Ocean Soup: A Recipe for You, Me, and a Cleaner Sea:
- Before Reading–From looking at the front and back cover:
- Where and when do you think this story takes place?
- What does the title–Ocean Soup–make you think of?
- What are the kids doing?
- Does this beach seem like a happy place?
- If not, why not?
- After Reading–Now that you’ve read the story:
- How big of a problem is ocean pollution?
- What are some of the main causes of ocean pollution?
- How did you feel when the story mentioned that YOU eat fish that are eating the ocean “soup”?
- What does the author suggest can be done about ocean pollution?
- Art–Use your art skills to let others know what Ocean Soup told you about water pollution. Make a poster that alerts people to the danger. Will you use words? Images? Both? Perhaps ask an adult to help you hang it somewhere where others will see your message.
- Conservation–Here are simple ways to help our ocean. Which of these will you do?
- Use refillable water bottles
- Skip balloons at parties or events
- Ask local ice cream shops not to use plastic spoons and straws
- Only wear clothes that are made without pesticides
- Ask adults to use natural fertilizer for gardens instead of chemicals
- Crafting–Try your hand at one or more of the following crafts (use recyclable materials when you can!). Get an art- or ocean-loving adult to help:
- Cupcake Liner Fish–These are positively adorable.
- Egg Carton Ocean Diorama–Perfect for imaginative play or as a way to display beach treasures.
- Ocean Animal Coffee Filter Suncatcher–Get out the paints and make awesome animal silhouettes to hang.
- Paper Plate Octopus–Super easy to make and almost too cute to resist.
- Turtle-Shaped Pasta Salad–Yes, you can eat this craft. Yum!
- Further Reading–Which of these other picture books about oceans have you read? (Click on any book cover for more information on these titles!)
