Garbage Guts

Book excerpt: Aria the Albatross and her seabird friends have a problem: They keep throwing up garbage. When she sets out on a long-distance flight across the Pacific Ocean to find out why, she meets other wildlife having trouble with trash. Monk Seal is trapped by a strapping band, Humpback Whale is hopelessly tangled in a ghost fishing net, and Sea Turtle is choking on a plastic bag he thought was a jellyfish. Once-beautiful beaches, reefs and open oceans are littered by discarded fishing gear, disposable lighters, plastic bags and bottle caps, creating unimaginable hazards for the creatures that live there. As Aria learns, humans are both the cause-and the solution-to the ever-increasing problem of marine pollution. With its imagery-laden prose, emotional poetry, and delightful illustrations, Garbage Guts becomes a call for action to preserve some of our planet's most fragile habitats for the wildlife that depends on them.