Color My Coral by Heidi Joulios –ADVISABLE

Joulios, Heidi Color My Coral 32 pgs. Martin Pearl Publishing, 2013. $14.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G.

Loretta the Crab discovers sea gems around the coral reef where she lives. She is delighted and use’s them to decorate everything. But the coral starts to get sick and loses it color. She enlists the help of an octopus, but the fix is only temporary. When they decide to call the doctor, Loretta finds out that her gems are really garbage, and that it what is hurting the coral polyps. When the sea creatures gather it all back up and throw it on the beach, the coral gets better. The see kids picking up the trash and throwing it away.

The story and its lesson is pretty good. I like that it introduces the concept of preservation in such a creative way. The names are really old fashioned, not ones that todays students will relate to. The artwork is garish though, and so bright and busy that students will have trouble recognizing the garbage. Even when the coral starts to lose its color, there are still so many loud colors, its hard to tell what’s going on. Additionally the title and cover makes it look like a coloring book, and I have enough trouble not getting young students to write in their library books.

El (K-3) -OPTIONAL  Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.