Ella and the Exploding Fish
Ella and the Exploding Fish is a funny, yet meaningful story about personal responsibility.
Plastic is kind of yuck. Yep, it really sucks.
So, what is this picture book about?
Join Ella and her sister, Ava, as they discover the joy of caring for a marine creature. Yet it isn’t all joy, as the sisters soon learn. Their beloved fish appear to thrive in only one type of environment ... but why are both fish getting bigger?
This light-hearted and genuinely surprising book will keep you and your little ones on their toes until the very end! Designed to be both humorous and moving, it also teaches an important lesson about personal responsibility.
We love it! But what do book reviewers think?
"Sceptics will think that children don't need this book, but in a world where children are becoming more socially aware and conscious of what's going on, we can't afford to not have a book like this available to young minds." Jess Just Reads.
A little word from the author, Ethicool's Co-Founder, Teigan Margetts. Why did you write this kids' book, Teigan?
Since I’ve had kids, my house just seems to fill with things I know are terrible for the environment. Plastic toys as gifts, plastic packaging on everything, it seems like I’m swimming in my own sea of plastic, despite doing everything I can to resist it.
There’s a lot being done in the world to combat plastic pollution, but we’ve got a long way to go. Eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into our ocean every year!
When it comes to our plastic consumption, though, and particularly how much of it ends up in our precious oceans, we all have a role to play and I think it’s critical that our little ones appreciate this. It might “just” be one plastic straw, but what if all eight billion of us said that?
When writing this story, I wanted there to be a particular focus on personal responsibility, or the idea that each and every one of us can make a meaningful difference to the amount of plastic that finds its way into the ocean, if we want to.
And the big question! Why do we need a kids’ book about plastic waste and ocean care?
Right now, swirling convergences of plastic make up about 40% of the world’s ocean surfaces, and at current rates, the amount of plastic in the sea is expected to outweigh the number of fish by 2050.
Plastic is toxic to our beautiful ocean creatures, and has been responsible for many species going extinct, including the Hawaain monk seal and Pacific loggerhead sea turtle. Experts believe that up to 700 more species are now endangered because of our plastic problem.
Yet at home, plastic seems oh-so-convenient. It’s one of the many elements of modern life where if we can’t immediately see the impact, it’s easy to forget it exists. But our beautiful oceans and the incredible creatures within them can no longer allow us to forget.
Let’s raise a generation of little superheroes who understand that every single piece of plastic could be the end of our wonderful creatures' lives.
An excerpt from the story
When Ella and Ava got home, they put their fish in their new homes and decorated their tanks.
The next morning, they work up early to check how their fish were going. But something wasn't quite right.
"Do you think our fish look a bit bigger today?" asked Ella.
"I'm not sure? Maybe we should feed them a bit less?" replied Ava.
"Good idea!" said Ella.
Ava woke up the next day to Ella squealing.
"Come quick! COME QUICK!" Ella yelled. "Something's happened!"
ISBN: 9780648702436
Want more feel-good stories?
If you liked Ella and the Exploding Fish, you’ll love Uncle Marlow’s machine. Written by revered author Stuart French, Uncle Marlow’s Machine has been described as the quintessential children’s book of our time - for good reason.
Meet Marlow
Sustainable production
We put a lot of thought into whether or not we should continue the tradition of physically printing children’s books. After all, we have Kindle and iPad these days, right? Why waste more paper? Well, yes, this is all true, but after several months’ research on the topic, all data points concluded that kids are already getting way too much “screen time”. So, what could we do? We’re a business with sustainability at our heart and should discourage paper usage… but we’re also a business that wants to encourage kids to get outside and away from the screens they’re all too often drawn to! The solution was to scour the globe for a large-scale printing partner that followed strict practices of sustainability, including frequent use of recycled papers and plant-based inks. And, sure enough, we found one! As a result, you can buy from us knowing we’re here for the planet – and you can even recycle our books in years to come! Even our delivery service within Australia is 100% carbon neutral 🚚 😍
About us
A story about Ethicool
In 2019, two famed writers realised they had read just about every renowned children's book ever produced. Many of these books, too, they adored and read over and over again to their own children, revelling in the utterly timeless joy that is found when children become immersed in a story. But, "what now?" they thought, gazing into the very-full bookshelf of their eldest child. This is when they realised, in the literal heat of Australia's horrendous bushfire season, it was time to start a new realm of a children's books; to introduce a revitalised approach to everything surrounding this time-honoured industry... And so, Ethicool was born. A progressive, passionate, and even polarising brand that has begun to turn this industry on its head. All Ethicool books are sustainably produced, dispatched, and of course, ethically written. But, most of all, Ethicool exists to engage children in the issues that are impacting our planet, and to empower them to make lasting change. Welcome to Ethicool, we're SO glad you're here.
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