Anita's National Park Cleanup
Anita is excited to host a scavenger hunt at the National Park―until she finds that the park is closed due to litter in the campgrounds. Determined to enjoy the park with the general public, she recruits children and their parents to help pick up trash around the area. When she finds a bird trapped in plastic, she looks for help to free it. Will they find a solution? This is a heartwarming environmental story that shows that by working together we can all make a difference to our earth.
Krystine Cabrera, 2023, 42 pages, Hardcover ISBN-13: 979-8-9875454-1-6.
Krystine Cabrera, 2023, 42 pages, Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8-9875454-0-9.
Purchase links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Interested in picking up litter with your little ones? Download and print the
Litter Scavenger Worksheet for your next cleanup is here!
About the characters Anita and richard
Anita is named after my maternal grandmother whom I never met because she passed away from cancer when she was 36 years old in the Philippines. Although I never met her, I wanted to honor her in some way and chose to name the main character of my book after her.
The little boy in this book named "Richard" is based on my maternal grandfather who is still very much alive! He met Anita when he was a sailor in the Philippines and then they had my Mother.
Pictured here are Anita's two sisters and Grandpa Richard reading my book! I am happy to honor both my maternal grandparents in my story! ♡♡♡
Awards and recognition
Reviews
"This book will have a truly positive influence on the world if enough people get their hands on it. It is sure to engage young readers and inspire them to make a difference in their own communities. The story teaches important environmental issues without being preachy, pedantic, or condescending, and when the story leads to an animal impacted by littering, it allows the author to connect with readers on an emotional level. Children will be left feeling motivated to become just like Anita and her fellow volunteers, who are dedicated to protecting nature and animals. It also wonderfully highlights how working together as a team can make a big difference, if everyone works together to reduce, reuse and recycle, we can all enjoy a greener world. In my opinion, this book should be required reading for everyone!"
- Louise Jane, CEO of The Golden Wizard Book Prize
"Anita's National Park Cleanup is a children's picture book by Krystine Cabrera, and illustrated by Guilherme Salomon. Its aim is to teach people a bit more about the environment and how to help care for the planet. Anita wants to have a scavenger hunt with her friends, but her excitement is short lived when she finds there's trash all over the area. She and everyone then clean the area.
The book certainly has some sad moments and it can be a bit miserable to see all sorts of trash people have left behind. But there are some really good moments where the characters encourage people to learn and make positive changes. One of my favourite bits is when the characters are able to save a little bird that was trapped in a plastic ring. I think it tells a really important story, and I think any child could learn a good lesson from this book.
At this moment, I would like to congratulate the illustrator, Guilherme Salomon, for having such incredible talent. There are some really great images in this book, and Salomon does well to convey a lot of different emotions and character actions. There's all sorts of different types of characters and it's a positive thing to see everyone coming together for a good cause. There's some really good backgrounds as well, and I enjoy seeing the textures of the bushes and trees.
Overall, this is a really good book, and there's a lot of good work been put into the writing and illustrations. I heartily recommend this!"
- Erin
“I asked my son what he thought of the book and he said, 'I think kids are going to want to read this a lot, like every night.' He said his favorite thing about the book is that it teaches people to be kind and care about people and the earth. My son has ADHD, so it's really hard to keep his attention and he had no trouble listening to the whole thing.“
~ Tiffany Hussell