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24 Apr 2013
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BELLA SAVES THE BEACH Review and Book Giveaway!

BELLA SAVES THE BEACH is the third book in the Bella and Britt Beach Series by Nancy Stewart. This lovely picture book is aimed at readers ages 6-9.

Though Bella loves the beach, she is concerned with all the trash she finds there. She enlists her younger sisters to help clean up, but they’re too little and would rather play in the sand. Next Bella makes posters asking the public to help, but a storm ruins them. Only when Bella, and her best friend Britt, call on their classmates to pick up trash do they see results. 
Illustrator Samantha Bell uses a clever device of writing environmental messages in the sand like, “Trash is terrible,” and “Keep our sand clean.” 
After the story concludes, Stewart adds lots of interesting facts about pelicans, sea gulls, crabs, sandpipers, and plovers. For instance, did you know that sea turtles sometimes eat plastic bags because they look like jellyfish? Or that a plover, (bird), acts like a crocodile dentist and picks decaying meat from a croc’s teeth?  This book would make a nice addition to classrooms studying the environment and how to keep it clean. 
Nancy will  give away a copy of BELLA SAVES THE BEACH to a lucky reader. To enter the drawing, leave a question for Nancy in the comments section.  I’ll get us started: Nancy, did you always conceive of Bella and Britt as a series, or did you write the first book and your publisher suggest it?

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15 Responses

  1. Nancy Stewart

    Thank you so very much for hosting me on your lovely blog, Shannon. I hope your readers will enjoy learning about Bella and Britt and their adventures in caring for their environment. Here's to empowering kids!

  2. Cheryl

    Thanks for the wonderful review of Nancy's latest. I'm thrilled to have a chance to help her promote it. This series has been popular since the beginning, and you can tell Nancy is passionate about empowering kids to make a difference.

  3. KKC

    Nancy, which of the Bella And Britt books was hardest to write? Which was easiest? Why do you think they were that way? Congratulations! Sea turtles are my favorite and I'm glad they have such a strong series advocating for their land habitat!

  4. Jaimie Engle

    What a great concept! I think this is a super cute series, and the cover is smart, yet fun. I love the idea that it teaches kids not only about how to keep the beaches clean, but also about the different animals that dirty beaches affect. Sometimes kids find it easier to do something like clean up at the beach, when they understand how it hurts crabs, seagulls, and fish. Thanks for a great review, Shannon!

  5. Nancy Stewart

    Hi, and thanks for your question! The hardest book by far was One Pelican at a Time. The oil spill had just occurred, the research was horrendous. I remember sitting on my deck, researching all the devestation with tears running down my cheeks. The book, though, had to have a happy ending, and it did. Happy and hopeful. The easiest was Sea Turtle Summer (also my favorite.) We are on the beach a lot with things going on, especially at weekends. The dilemma of what to do about a sea turtle nest on a busy beach came to me all at once, and I wrote it seamlessly. Again, many thanks, and best wishes to you!

  9. Joni Klein-Higger

    I love the concept of this book and look forward to reading it!

    Question for Nancy: How much input did you have with the illustrations? Did you work with Samantha on capturing the feeling you wanted to convey?

  10. Nancy Stewart

    Hi, Joni! I had no input with Sam at all, which is pretty usual. As it turned out, I loved everything she did. When I saw the covers, I knew it all would be wonderful but had no clue until then…

    Thanks!

  11. Rosi

    Thanks, Shannon, for the review. Nancy, I also love the cover. This is a terrific concept for a books series. I need to find an idea that will demand I spend some time at the beach! Congratulations on doing it and getting it out there. Did you model your characters on real people?

  12. Nancy Stewart

    Hi, Rosi, for your kind remarks. Yes, actually the girls are sisters (one natural and the other adopted.) They are the children of a friend of Samantha Bell's, the wonderful water colorist who has done the illustrations for the whole series. The girls' personalities are amalgoms of girls I know and girls from my mind. It's funny. I now feel as if I know them intimately and love both of them! Cheers.