Book Nook: 1, 2, 3, Who's Cleaning the Sea?

Janina Rossiter points out that humanity is becoming desensitized to its own impact on the oceans and the creatures within it. Many people can now simply scroll past images of sea turtles stabbed by drinking straws, for example, and not even flinch. The net result is less attention to the issues that really matter.

That's what inspired her to create ‘1, 2, 3, Who's Cleaning the Sea?: A Counting Picture Book About Protecting Our Planet’, a book for young children that not only has them counting and marvelling at stunning ocean imagery, but learning to understand man’s impact on ocean creatures, as well as their responsibility to fight for change.

This book will teaches children not only numbers and how to count but also the importance of taking care of our environment. Children will love learning how little changes they make can protect our planet. Younger children will be able to count along and slightly older children (ages 4-6) will learn to make logical connections between numbers and facts. Readers of all ages will enjoy the pictures, the story, and the message.

1,2,3, Who's Cleaning the Sea is the second book from award-winning and Amazon best-selling author Janina Rossiter in her 'concept picture book' series. Janina Rossiter has again combined two subjects with imaginative drawings, resulting in a beautiful book that children and adults will enjoy reading.

"The young children I work with are always very open-minded and eager to learn about the environment,” explains the author, an award-winning, prolific writer. “It is important to give them that opportunity without exposing them to upsetting images or stories. 1,2,3, Who's Cleaning the Sea? helps them understand the role we play in ocean pollution and how each one of us can help to make things better. My generation has failed; we have filled the seas and oceans with plastic and are now killing thousands of innocent creatures daily, as a result. I hope my book empowers children to question some of the choices my generation made, change them for their generation and start fighting in a way that steadily begins to reverse the trends. It is huge job, yes – but totally within our reach.”


I had a chance to interview Janina (also find her on Instagram) to learn more about the book.

Why did you decide to write this book?

I was already working on a sea-creature concept counting book when I came across the subject of ocean-pollution for the first time. I was shocked and saddened. I was inspired to write this book so everyone would know about the dangers our oceans are facing and how they could help to make a difference.

I care deeply about our environment and I am passionate about fighting climate change and keeping the oceans free from plastic and other pollutants.

Why are you focusing on sea pollution?

Water has always been my element. I've been a competitive swimmer for half of my life and I love being surrounded by water. As an artist, I feel happiest when I'm recreating images of the ocean in my paintings. When I learned about ocean-pollution it was a natural reaction for me to educate others and help prevent plastic waste in the first place.

Why is it so important to engage the younger generation early when it comes to protecting the environment?

First I'd like to say that I love working with kids. I have been a children's book author for the last 5 years. ( Tovi the Penguin series, and the award-winning book The ABC animal picnic)

Terence Bulley, founder of Blue Ocean Watch wrote in his review "...Shamefully, it is the younger generations who are inheriting the results of catastrophic mistakes made in our treatment so far, of our planet." and I agree.

I feel I must engage with kids so they become aware of problems and to help them to make better choices for a better future.

Also, I believe that by changing the world around them, kids hold the key to changing the world.

And I believe parents might be more perceptive to change if their kids want to see change themselves.

About the Author:

Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Janina Rossiter loves three things: design, France and her little family.

She studied communication & illustration design at university, and has lived in Germany (her home country), England (where she met her husband), and now France (where she vows to stay).
After graduating with a degree from university she worked as a packaging designer for a few years before setting off on her own and expanding into freelance design. She enjoys the creative energy of Paris, where she lives with her English husband and her two daughters.

With the arrival of her first daughter, Janina's love for painting and drawing found a new lease on life and, before long, she combined her passion for illustration with the wonderfully inspiring world of children.

Janina Rossiter is also author of the children's book series Tovi the Penguin ."My books are essentially about friendship. The penguins go on little adventures together and things don't always go as planned. It gives the young (and older) reader something exciting to explore together, as they look forward to finding out how it all turns out in the end. My main aim is to make the reader smile and enjoy Tovi's story. He is a lovely character and I would like to think that the reader learns something from my books without them being overly educational.