Oil-Soaked Wings Read online

  About the Illustrator

  Erwin Madrid grew up in San Jose, California, and earned his BFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. During his final semester, Erwin was hired by PDI/DreamWorks Animation, where he contributed production art for Shrek 2. He later became a visual development artist for the Shrek franchise, the Madagascar sequel, and Megamind. He has designed cover art for children’s books from Harper Collins, Random House, and Simon and Schuster. He currently lives in the Bay Area.

  Glossary

  acclimate (AK-luh-meyt)—

  to adapt to a new climate, environment, or situation

  crisis (KRAHY-sis)—

  a situation that has become very serious

  desolate (DES-uh-lit)—

  lacking signs of life

  ecosystem (EK-oh-sis-tuhm)—

  a system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment, especially under natural conditions

  initiative (ih-NISH-ee-uh-tiv)—

  a first step or movement

  poise (POIZ)—

  carrying and presenting yourself with confidence

  preen (PREEN)—

  a bird preens when it cleans its feathers with its bill

  salvage (SAL-vig)—

  to rescue or save, especially from wreckage or ruin

  Talk About It

  The oil spill strongly affects the Charleston area. How would you feel if your town had an oil spill that hurt the wildlife? What would you do to help out like Elsa and Olivia?

  While cleaning the pelicans, Mr. Hauser tells Elsa and Olivia that it’s important to make sure the pelicans are a little afraid of humans. Talk about why that is important to help the pelicans.

  Elsa notices that the pelicans that were hurt by the oil are visibly different when the Seaside Sanctuary team helps get them into the rescue center. What are some of the signs she sees that the birds aren’t behaving normally because of the oil?

  Write About It

  Elsa and Olivia care deeply about all the pelicans, but they grow very attached to one in particular. Would it be difficult for you to not treat the pelicans as pets? Write a few sentences explaining why or why not.

  After Elsa and Olivia post online asking for help, one of the people who joins the team is Tom Bartel. Why do you think he came to the cleanup? Write a paragraph from Tom’s perspective explaining why he came to the beach.

  Pretend you’re in Elsa’s shoes. Write your own version of the post asking for anyone to help clean up the oil spill, describing the state of the beach and what has happened to the pelicans.

  More About Pelicans

  Pelicans are very recognizable birds, especially because of the pouches on their throats. Did you know that pelicans use their throat pouches to catch fish and to carry materials for building their nests? Here are ten more facts that might surprise you:

  All kinds of pelicans have a throat pouch. Their pouches can hold more than their stomachs.

  Pelicans can have a wingspan up to nine feet wide. They can have a hard time getting into the air because of their size, but with the right gust of wind they can fly high into the sky.

  Pelicans are very quiet when they’re away from their breeding colony or when it’s not time for food.

  Pelicans live on most of the continents in the world. The only continent pelicans don’t live on is Antarctica.

  There are eight different species of pelican. The pelican with the largest bill size is the Australian pelican, which can have a bill as long as one and a half feet!

  Pelicans are one of the few bird types that breathe through their mouths instead of their nostrils.

  In the wild, pelicans can live up to 25 years. In captivity, they can live more than 50 years.

  Pelicans mostly eat fish, and they can eat as much as four pounds of fish a day. Brown pelicans dive under the water to catch fish, while other pelicans keep their heads above water.

  A pelican can’t swallow fish until it drains the water it scooped up out of its pouch. A pelican’s throat pouch can hold three gallons of water.

  Pelican feathers are waterproof, but only when tiny parts of each feather called barbs lock together. Pelicans and other birds are in danger during an oil spill, as the oil separates the barbs and exposes the birds to the cold.

  Seaside Sanctuary

  When 12-year-old Elsa Roth’s parents uproot their family and move them from Chicago, Illinois, to a seaside marine biology facility in Charleston, South Carolina, she expects to be lonely and bored. Little does she know that Seaside Sanctuary might just be the most interesting place she could have imagined. Whether she’s exploring her new home, getting to know an amazing animal, or basking in the sun, Elsa realizes there’s fun to be had—and mysteries to be solved—at Seaside Sanctuary.

  Read all of Elsa’s seaside adventures!

  Use FactHound to find Internet sites related to this book.

  Visit www.facthound.com

  Just type in 9781496578617 and go.

  Seaside Sanctuary is published by Stone Arch Books

  A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.mycapstone.com

  Text and illustrations © 2019 Stone Arch Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Berne, Emma Carlson, author. | Madrid, Erwin, illustrator.

  Title: Oil-soaked wings / by Emma Carlson Berne ; illustrated by Erwin Madrid.

  Description: North Mankato, Minnesota : Stone Arch Books, [2019] |

  Series: Seaside Sanctuary | Summary: An oil spill spells trouble for Seaside Sanctuary and the birds and other marine animals that live along the beach, including a young pelican that Elsa and Olivia rescue; all the birds need to be carefully cleaned and given medical attention—but there is another problem: until the spill is cleaned up the birds cannot be released, and the company responsible for the spill does not seem interested in doing its part.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018037067| ISBN 9781496578617 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781496580306 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781496578655 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 9781496581754 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Pelicans—Juvenile fiction. | Oil spills—Juvenile fiction. | Oil spills­—Cleanup—Juvenile fiction. | Wildlife rescue— Juvenile fiction. | Marine pollution—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Pelicans—Fiction. | Oil spills—Fiction. | Wildlife rescue—Fiction. | Marine pollution—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.B455139 Oi 2019 | DDC 813.6 [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018037067

  Designer: Aruna Rangarajan

  Photo Credits: Shutterstock: Color Brush, design element throughout, KRAUCHANKA HENADZ, design element throughout, Nikiparonak, design element throughout, PYRAMIS, pelican image, Theeradech Sanin, design element throughout