gift for kid

Like all families, here at Reviewed By Mom we try and do our part to be environmentally responsible.  I do my best to teach my three little ones to care about our earth and to set a good example for them.  When I heard about the just released book (out 4/18), World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky, I knew I had to have it.  This book is for the whole family and is a tool to teach our children (and ourselves!) about the terrifying but true prospect of a world without fish.  Think this is crazy talk?  Not so crazy at all....if we keep doing what we have been doing fish could be extinct within 50 years!!  Yikes!  Here is more about this fascinating book...

Mark Kurlansky, beloved author of the award-winning bestseller Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, offers a riveting new book for kids about what’s happening to fish, the oceans, and our environment, and what, armed with knowledge, kids can do about it.

Written by a master storyteller, World Without Fish connects all the dots—biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, food, and nutrition—in a way that kids can really understand. It describes how the fish we most commonly eat, including tuna, salmon, cod, and swordfish, could disappear within 50 years, and the domino effect it would have—oceans teeming with jellyfish and turning pinkish orange from algal blooms; seabirds disappearing, then reptiles, then mammals. It describes the back-and-forth dynamic of fishermen and scientists. It covers the effects of industrialized fishing, and how bottom-dragging nets are turning the ocean floor into a desert.

The answer? Support sustainable fishing. World Without Fish tells kids exactly what they can do: Find out where those fish sticks come from. Tell your parents what’s good to buy, and what’s not. Ask the waiter if the fish on the menu is line-caught And follow simple rules: Use less plastic, and never eat endangered fish like bluefin tuna.

Interwoven with the book is a full-color graphic novel. Each beautifully illustrated chapter opener links to form a larger fictional story that complements the text. Hand in hand, they create a Silent Spring for a new generation. 

Wow...this book is truly amazing.  The message is strong but it is presented in a way that is completely appropriate for children and coupled with vibrant drawings, fun fonts and cartoons.  This book is not just for children, in fact the suggested ages are 9 and up, and is an important read for anyone looking to better our world (that is all of you I hope!!).   While A&W are only 4.5 they could definitely understand the parts I shared with them and began to think about ways they could make a difference.  While my kiddos are too little to write letters to officials they can start thinking about using less plastic and reminding mommy and daddy about the OK kinds of fish to eat.  Living in Maine, talk of fishing makes people pretty hot and bothered.  Many here make their livings in that way but, rest assured, Kurlansky does not want us to stop fishing (not at all!) he simply is calling on us to be more responsible about it.  Besides, if we keep it up, there will be no fish to fish!


I highly recommend this book and I hope you will all read it and pass it on to those you know.  I know we all want our world to be a better place for our children and this book shares some great ideas.  Pick up World Without Fish today...














Three very lucky RBM readers will receive a copy of World Without Fish as well as a beautiful World Without Fish Poster pictured here...

You of course will hang this poster straight but, try as I might, I could not get this picture to spin around for me (a computer tech I am not!!).  Thanks so much to the publisher, Workman Publishing, for introducing me to this book and for sponsoring this great giveaway!  Here is how to enter...

Mandatory Entry:   Tell me something you are doing to help keep our environment safe for future generations.  You must complete this entry for all extras to be counted.


For Extra Entries: