Plastic islands floating in the world's oceans
The reality of the island as told by the seabirds that stayed there

On land where people live, plastics that were carried by ocean currents far out to sea have gathered and formed islands.
The island is invisible to those who actually caused the disaster, but birds can go to the newly created island in the middle of the sea.
Birds aren't trained to deal with plastic; they just see it as something colorful and novel, so they wrap it around their bodies, taste it, or swallow it.
I don't avoid it.
In this way, plastic gradually spreads into the bodies of birds and the mouths of marine life.


It is estimated that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean, with 8 million tons entering the ocean each year.
And it is known that the creatures that suffer the most damage from this waste are seabirds.


This picture book tells this serious story through the mouth of a seabird.
Under the gentle and calm text that begins with “On the island where I live,” the paintings gradually illuminate trucks transporting waste, colorful scenes of life, the distant sea where colorful debris gathers, and birds naively exploring.
The contrast between the splendid artificial colors, the sea that has lost its blue, and the natural colors unified in ink conveys the message contained in this book even more powerfully.
This is also the biggest change in this revised edition.

It would be good for children to first encounter it
Sea Stories, Earth Stories

Many people cite the plastic problem as the most pressing issue.
If things continue as they are now, it is predicted that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.
Unlike other wastes, plastics are difficult to decompose and can persist for centuries.
Research is being conducted around the world on how to decompose plastic, but there is still no effective method.


Seabirds and people alike are trapped in a cycle where plastic waste flows from homes to rivers and oceans, accumulates in the bodies of marine life, and eventually returns to homes.
So the first thing we can do is to be aware of the reality and reduce our use of plastic.
This picture book has the virtue of arousing interest and moving the heart without trying to teach or force.