Did you know that every year over 8-million metric tons of plastics enter our seas? That is equivalent to five plastic bags filled with trash for every foot of coastline in the world. That’s madness!

Author Evelyn Bookless felt the urge to write a story that engages and educates the children of our future in this fight against ocean pollution. She has found a way to take this crucial topic and make it kid-friendly!

The result? An awesome pollution-fighting superhero!

CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE PLASTIC SCENE couldn’t be more timely and needed! Let’s dive in and learn some more!

Title: CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE PLASTIC SCENE

Genre: Picture Book

Ages: 5-8

Author: Evelyn Bookless

Illustrator: Danny Deeptown

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International

Synopsis:

Fresh out of Superhero School, Captain Green gets a call. Dolphin is tangled up in plastic, and there’s trouble for Seagull and Turtle too. When our brave superhero rushes off to help, he finds himself on a major mission: saving sea creatures from plastic. Using his incredible powers, Captain Green promises to save the day. But can he clean up this mess for good?

Now let’s meet the real superhero behind this entertaining, yet educational story about protecting our environment, author Evelyn Bookless!

It’s so great to have you!

Thanks for having me!

Can you share your inspiration behind CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE PLASTIC SCENE?

I was inspired to write Captain Green and the Plastic Scene while on holiday in Indonesia several years ago. I was saddened by the huge amount of plastic that had washed up on the beach not too far from our hotel. Such an incredibly beautiful place was destroyed by our actions. I thought, this pesky problem needs a superhero, and Captain Green was born! I immediately began researching and writing the story with the goal of engaging children, in a fun way, in the fight against ocean pollution.

You’ve taken a very serious subject and found a way to make it easier for children to understand. What was that process like?

Thank you! I adore animals and nature and when I began to learn more and more about the way plastic is polluting our oceans and hurting sea creatures, I wanted to shine a light on the problem while, most importantly, telling a story that children would enjoy and connect with. I watched documentaries, read widely and talked to a marine biologist to learn as much as I could. Then I chose three animals to include and studied their habits and habitats.

It was important for me to not overwhelm children but show them some ways that they can make a difference. The story ends positively with Captain Green reminding us that “you don’t need superpowers to save our seas, it just takes a superhuman.”

What is something you would like your readers to take away from this story?

That if we all make some small changes in our daily lives, we can make a big difference to ocean pollution and the well-being of our sea creatures. It’s not too late!

When writing CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE PLASTIC SCENE, did you get to work directly with illustrator Danny Deeptown? How did you determine the superhero look for Captain Green?

I did get to work closely with Danny Deeptown and it was a fantastic experience. I was thrilled when he came on board to illustrate the book. He has brought so much emotion, life and action to the pictures.

Danny felt that it was important to get Captain Green’s innocence across so that all children can relate to him, or even better, want to be like him. Captain Green loves nature and does his best to protect the planet. He shows everyone ways that they can help save our seas and empowers us all to do our bit.

I loved all of Danny’s initial character sketches for Captain Green and, in the end, he amalgamated ideas from two different drawings to come up with the final look. Children have responded so well to the character and I adore seeing pictures of little ones pretending to be Captain Green.

If you could share a piece of advice with writers, what would it be?

I would advise writers to read as many current picture books relating to their WIP as they can. I read countless books about adventures, superheroes, the environment, and animals to order to find suitable mentor texts that I could use.

What is coming up next for you?

I have some more school visits coming up soon. I love to visit schools to share the book and hear children’s bright ideas for saving our seas.

I am working on another Captain Green story about a different environmental topic and I hope it will be finished some time later in the year. I am playing around with different ways to tell the story.

I am working on a whole host of other stories that are much more silly so fingers crossed that I find a good home from them too.

Thank you for writing a kid-friendly, fun story with such a vital theme for children. Also, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions!

Thank you for having me on your blog, Katie!

Keep It Green!

I also wanted to include this informative short three-minute video from National Geographic that shares the detrimental effects plastic has on our oceans.

https://youtu.be/HQTUWK7CM-Y

Check out these classroom activities regarding the impact of plastics for various age levels here and more resources here.

Children everywhere are already taking a stand against plastics entering our oceans. Check out the 4-minute video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFV9IquMXA

You can preorder CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE PLASTIC SCENE on Amazon or purchase it now by visiting here or here.

To learn more about author Evelyn Bookless and see what she’s up to check out her website: https://www.evelynbookless.com/

Or visit her social media feeds:

Twitter: @evelynbookless

Instagram: @evelynbookless

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!