Ocean Conservation, HELPING EACH OTHER, RECYCLING

The ocean can be a tough place for a baby sea lion! Spot, a young sea pup, is having a great time with his sea lion buddies – until he gets tangled into some nets and trash that have polluted the ocean. His friends try to help him, but they can’t free him. Spot is in trouble; he needs a rescue, and fast!

Find out who helps Spot in this charming book with rhyming words and vibrant illustrations that features an important lesson in ecology.

Why is the ocean so important to this sea pup named Spot?   
This book has a simple message that echoes Spot’s important lesson in ecology: "Be kind to the planet. Be kind to each other." The back of the book includes a teacher/parent guide to encourage conversations with children. Includes ocean photography, fun facts and lesson plan activities. 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:  YOUTUBE LINK

AWARDS:    

2017 Best Book Awards, “Children's Educational”; 1stPlace 

2017 Institute for Education, Research & Scholarships Int'l Writers Award; 1st Place 

April 2017 issue of "Children's Bookwatch"

Monthly book review publication in association with Midwest Book Reviews.
The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

★★★★★

Presenting the simple message that we should all be kind to our mother earth and be kind to each other, "Spot: A Sea Pup's Survival Guide" is the story of a baby sea lion that gets tangled in trash at sea and is rescued by humans. Of special note is the inclusion of a basic teacher/parent guide for encouraging conversations with children about help each other, recycling, and protecting our oceans and the marine life they are home to. Impressive illustrations are combined with underwater ocean photography to support a thoroughly 'kid friendly' and engaging storyline. As informed and informative as it is consistently entertaining and engaging, "Spot: A Sea Pup's Survival Guide" includes activity lessons and is very highly recommended for family home schooling curriculums, as well as school and community library collections.

The review has been provided to the Helen C. White Library's "Cooperative Children's Book Center" (University of Wisconsin, Madison) where it will be made available to school and community librarians throughout Wisconsin's public school systems and community libraries. This review has also been provided to the Cengage Learning, Gale interactive CD-ROM series "Book Review Index" which is published four times yearly for academic, corporate, and public library systems.

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August 2017 Reader's Favorite Book Reviews

★★★★★
Reviewed by Rosie Maleze, Children - Picture Book

...This unique tale of the devastating effects which pollution and litter have on our oceans and our wildlife is long overdue and I applaud Laura Knight for her efforts. Combined with an animated tale for young children, the story of Spot and his friends also comes with delightful facts and photographs of marine animals, both big and small. Many people do not realize how littering can lead to environmental catastrophe for so many animals, whether on land, in the sea or in the air, and to ensure that our children have a future in which they can thrive, we need to take care of our planet today in order to create a better tomorrow. I very much enjoyed Spot: A Sea Pup's Survival Guide, and recommend it to all children, so that they can take control of the planet’s destiny in a positive way. <READ MORE>

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May 2017, Thank You 

Dear Laura,
We truly appreciate your dedication and the visit you provided to Santa Ana Public Library. The turnout was a great success. The families enjoyed your reading, the activity, and book signing.  On behalf of the community, thank you for your generosity.  Spot is a great addition to our library.   

Lupita Arroyo
Principal Librarian - Youth Services
Santa Ana Main Library                    

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June 2017, Thank You 
​
Dear Laura,
I just received and read your book. I am looking forward to sharing it with my grandchildren. You and your friends did an excellent  job of creating a wonderful story with a great purpose in presenting insight and thoughtful messages for everyone. 

This is great approach to not only educate and entertain young children and adults, but also introduce them to means for caring and helping; in this case, animals of the seas. I'm looking forward to learning more about your projects and the direction you are pursuing. 

Thank you, 
Gary A Rubin.
Owner of Tru-Soul Publishing BMI, G. Alan Associates, Ltd. 

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July 2017, ​Katy Pye - Book Review
Award-winning Novelist & Wildlife Conservationist
https://katypye.com/

Author Laura Knight brings a surfer’s passion for the ocean to her story about Spot, a seal pup, living with the wonders and the dangers of today’s seas. While racing his friends, Spot becomes hopelessly entangled in a discarded fishing net until unexpected help arrives. Using rhyming verse, captivating illustrations, and professional underwater photos, Knight opens the world beneath the ocean waves to young readers.
 

More than just a delightful read, the book includes targeted educational activities, expanding the book’s range into the upper end of the 3-7 age bracket. Knight’s story and valuable message, “Be kind to the planet. Be kind to each other,” encourages readers of all ages to work together to make our big, blue world safe for all creatures. Recommended for home, school, and home-school libraries.

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August 2017, Book Feature
​Background Noise: Books for Gifted & Twice-Exceptional Youth

Laura Knight knows a few things about sea life. She's a California surfer, artist, writer and environmentally responsible. Spot is a rescued sea pup who was tangled up in sea trash (ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?) Learn about sea life and the impact we have on gentle creatures while feeding the brain of your 3ish - 7ish year old animal (and mammal) lover.  

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2017, Book Review - Book Blog 
Lauren Simone Publishing House

Headline:  Don’t litter, Be brave, and Educate others​
...The book also includes “Making connections” and “Discussion questions.” Making connections provides fun activities and ways to apply lessons learned in the text. Discussion questions allow the readers to test their reading comprehension and reflect on the text and internalize the lesson. I recommend this book for children 4 to 8 and recommend that schools add this book to their libraries.  <READ MORE>

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2017, Book Review - Book Blog
DS&JM Book Reviews

...The illustrations of Spot are very colorful and captures the kids attention while the pictures of real sea life provides fun facts for them to learn about the oceanic environment. I have a 3 and a 4 year old, and they absolutely loved it; they sat down with us the whole time to read- which is quite a feat considering they love to listen to us read but like to bounce around from one thing to the next while we have story time. <READ MORE>

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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data 

Names: Knight, Laura, author. | Stewart, Aarin, illustrator. | Salas, Richard, photographer.

Title: Spot : a sea pup’s survival guide / author, Laura Knight ; illustrations by Aarin Stewart ; photography by Richard Salas.

Description: Newport Beach, CA: Laura Knight, 2017

Identifiers: ISBN 978-0-692-80525-1

Subjects: LCSH Sea lions--Juvenile fiction. | Sea lions--Infancy--fiction. | Animals--Infancy--Juvenile fiction. | Wildlife rescue--Juvenile fiction. | Marine animals--Juvenile fiction. | Marine animals—Conservation--Juvenile fiction. | Habitat conservation--Juvenile fiction. | Ocean--Juvenile fiction. | BISAC JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Marine Life

Classification: PZ7.K7383 2017 | DDC [E]--dc23​