Timmy Gets Tangled & Trevor Gets Trapped

It’s never too late to start “caring for creation” or to take another step to do more no matter your age. 

Earth Day is often celebrated in April, but every month is a great month for caring for our earthly home. I’m remembering School Break Camps that we held at our church where our themes frequently related to Earth Day and Care of Creation. During those camps we always had special projects, books, literature, and art to help instill in our lives better care of our environment and care for all sharing this earth with us.

Recently I was introduced to two children’s books by Christine Iverson that spurred me to look once again for books and literature for children and teens to encourage better care and action to keep and protect our precious earth for generations to come. Perhaps you will want to check some of these books out for your children and grandchildren.

Timmy Gets Tangled and Trevor Gets Trapped both written by Christine Iverson and illustrated by Tom Lyttle are great for children aged 5 to 9 years old. 

Timmy is a cute sea turtle who finds himself tangled in a plastic six pack holder. While Trevor, a colorful fish, investigates the inside of a plastic water bottle and cannot get out. Each has some wonderful sea animal friends that offer advice and ideas to help each escape from their dilemma.

Now Timmy after trying a variety of ideas on his own seeks his family and sea friends to help untangle him from the plastic six-pack holder while he continues to grow bigger and bigger. Finally, the wise old octopus has an idea. You may be surprised at how Timmy gets untangled.

Trevor, a Trigger fish, has many sea friends, a Pufferfish, a Lionfish, and a Sawfish to offer ideas to help get him un-trapped while his family has to figure out just how to feed him inside the bottle. Thankfully another fish friend comes up with a viable solution.  You’ll have to read this book to find out which fish friend has the solution and what Trevor looks like now.

Both books include reminders for all of us to dispose and recycle plastics properly to protect Timmy, Trevor, and their sea animal friends. An added feature includes interesting facts about the sea animals in the stories as well as facts regarding ocean pollution and a fun word search activity.

I loved the colorful and fun illustrations which naturally appeal to young children while relaying an important message that children can grasp. Christine Iverson taught school for over 25 years, and now retired has lived on a boat for over eight years. It has been during her time living on the water that she has become much more aware of how serious our ocean pollution is and decided to address this issue beginning with young children.

What are you and your family doing already to help protect our oceans and beaches? How do you recycle your plastics? Are you ready to take another step? What might that step be?

Even if you’ve been recycling for years, you might want to take a second look at what the guidelines are for your city. Look online for your county’s recycle guidelines. Somethings have been updated over all the years recycling has been encouraged. In your community what can be collected curbside and what has to be taken somewhere else to be recycled? Would you consider adding a cleanup activity for your family on your next beach trip?

I reside in two different counties in California and each has their own recycling rules. I have to be aware of each so I can try to do the best I can for the environments that I am directly involved. And yes, some of the guidelines have been refined. Sometimes, I feel what I can do is very small considering the scope of our current climate change impact. But truthfully, every little thing each of us can do will add up to something far greater than ourselves.

Check back here next month to learn about our “ocean soup” and for teens and adults a “bird’s eye view” of our ocean.

This BOOK REVIEW FOR Parents with KIDS AND TEENS is also on YOUTUBE!

This book review puts a spotlight on well-written and thought-provoking books focused on the topics of creation care and social justice. This is a great resource for parents everywhere to help them find those unique stories for their children that are both fun to read and bring about awareness.

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