Coral Reef Madness

Abstract

We are engaged in an environmental war: fighting global warming, confronting an energy crisis, battling pollutions of all sorts, even struggling to save trees from deforestation. The Earth is our home and it is our duty to defend her; we are the principal architects of our future. As an artist I feel it is my duty to use what I know to educate others about the importance of helping our planet. Inspired by the simple but powerful environmental messages conveyed in Dr. Seuss's The Lorax and Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, I am writing and illustrating my own children's picture book for my thesis. Both authors were able to use art in order to express how important the Earth is and the relationship we have with it. Children's books are an excellent way to educate the public about the rising problems we have with our environment. Not only do they teach children about our growing responsibility to the Earth, but they also educate the parents who purchase them. My story takes place in the beautiful coral reef where a funky, fish dance party gets too wild. The dancers scare off the wildlife, break coral, and kick up the sand on the ocean floor creating murky water that blocks the necessary sunlight to the reef. One tiny voice shows the coral reef community the error of their ways.