March Featured Title: Coral’s Quest
“You can avoid plastic by refusing, reusing, reducing, and recycling. Try replacing just one thing that you use all the time that is plastic—like your straw, your cup, or your utensils. Eventually you will do it with many things and it will become a habit that helps the earth.”
Our March featured title is Coral’s Quest by 10-year-old Zoë Williams! We chatted with Zoë about ocean conservation, her collaboration with Ocean Ramsey, and her big plans for the future!
1. You have been a dedicated advocate for ocean conversation since age 7, helping to organize local beach clean-ups and educating kids and adults through public speaking, art, music and writing. Now 10 years old, what inspired you to write Coral’s Quest?
What inspired me to write Coral’s Quest was how much I wanted to educate more people on plastic awareness who don’t live near me.
2. The beginning of the book includes a foreword from Ocean Ramsey, a very notable Marine Biologist and Dive Tourism operator. How did you and Ocean Ramsey first get in contact with each other? Why do you think Ocean Ramsey’s message is so important for us to understand?
We first met on Instagram and then we started talking to each other through comments and sharing posts. We have actually never met and I would LOVE to meet her someday! When I wanted to ask her to write the foreword, I mailed her a letter. I was so excited when she said yes!
It’s important for us to understand Ocean’s message because she is explaining how plastic affects us and the ocean. She is very inspiring and she focuses on plastic awareness and sharks, which is also my favorite animal!
3. What do you hope readers will learn and take away from this book?
What I hope people learn from my book is that plastic is really bad for the planet. They can start acting now towards fixing this problem. The more people who focus on this problem, the healthier and happier the planet will be.
4. What does the future hold for Zoë Williams? Any more books on the horizon?
What I am planning for my future is I will make books with Sandra Aros about shark fishing, the climate, and captivity.
5. How can we all be a little more environmentally-conscious in our everyday lives?
You can avoid plastic by refusing, reusing, reducing, and recycling. Try replacing just one thing that you use all the time that is plastic—like your straw, your cup, or your utensils. Eventually you will do it with many things and it will become a habit that helps the earth.