Most of us adults can remember the oil spill of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. The news covered all the facts that we thought were important and geared them toward us. What we didn’t hear was the personal stories of the animals that suffered from this disaster, and none of the stories were geared toward the children.

Lynda WursterDeniger has written a child-friendly book, Patti Pelican and The Gulf Oil Spill, that explains what happened to the water birds during this terrible incident. Instead of just facts, she presents all the information in a story format that draws the kids in and makes them fall in love with the characters.

Pattie Pelican and Sammy Seagull are the stars of this book and the others in the “Salty Seas Series.” In the Gulf Oil Spill, we follow them as well as Captain Charley as they first hear about the news of the explosion. This is not good news. But we see Captain Charley trying to help out and contain the oil.

But, Patti and Sammy get themselves into a bind when they try to grab themselves something to eat and enter the water. After they are covered in oil, we follow them to the rescue center and learn about how they are cleaned and rehabilitated.

At the end of the story, we have ten questions on the “Do You Remember” page. These questions are a great way to make sure your children were listening when you were reading, and also helps draw out the main facts of the story.

We also found an audio CD and Sing Along Song at the end of the book. The audio CD is nice for when I don’t have the chance to sit down with the kids. However, this one was read fast. Almost too fast for me to follow along. I love the story and found that if the reader would just slow down a moment, this CD would be a great way to enjoy this book when there is no time to read. The Sing Along Song is a great summary of the story. The girls loved listening to it and singing the catchy tune.

I love finding books that talk about current events, or past events that need to be remembered and learned from. Having Patti Pelican on our shelf is a great book to help us remember what happened and learn from it. We enjoyed the interaction between Pattie and Sammy and had feelings for them, both when they were in the oil spill and again at the end of the book.

If you want to have your kids learn in a fun away, you will want to introduce them to Patti, Sammy, and Charley. They will have fun, and you will know that they are learning at the same time!

-Product reviewed by Amanda Hopkins, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2017