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Trash
As the ideas for these adventures began with the trash I collected on the beach, I thought it befitting that the final book in the Super Cape Adventure series address the issue of trash.
The pictures here show some of the items I collected. The toys were collected over three weeks and donated to Goodwill. Strange as it may seem, there seemed to be a theme about the trash on some days. The cans and sunglasses I collected on a single day. That's where I got the idea for Pinky Pink asking if anyone wanted to see how many soda cans they could spot.
There is plenty of material out there about the harm caused by trash to wildlife on our beaches, so I won't say any more about that. The challenge was to write a story about trash that is not scary or disturbing, but which raises questions. Whether it's protecting wildlife, our environment, or understanding and being aware of posted signs, each of our books attempts to continue the conversation on an issue. Young children can just enjoy the stories and the beautiful pictures so lovingly created by Neena, but older children can certainly engage in meaningful conversations.
Neena and I have have really challenged ourselves with this final book. We so hope you enjoy Super Cape Protects Baby Bird and would love to hear your feedback.
Swarna Mohan
Beach Signs
Have you ever noticed the number of signs there are on a beach? From No Fishing to Turtle Nesting area. Do not Disturb. – there are any number of signs, some of which beachgoers follow and others which they either don’t see or choose to ignore! When I noticed a pile of trash right in front of a Don’t leave anything behind but your footprints! sign, the germ of an idea began to take root in my brain. What if one of my characters doesn’t notice a sign? What kind of trouble could he end up in? How would his friends be able to rescue him? And thus was born Super Cape’s latest adventure. I hope you enjoy it!
Swarna Mohan
Sand Holes
...by Swarna Mohan
When I mentioned that my next book would feature sand holes, a friend remarked that a day at the beach was no fun without digging sand holes. She spoke about how she used to dig and dig at the beach with the hope of reaching China! We’ve all been there – picked up a shovel at the beach and kept going, even if we never dug a hole to plant a tree in our backyard!
But there is a very real and present danger that deep sand holes present, and officials in many beach communities have been warning us about them. Here is one such post, “Officials posted on Facebook … warning about the dangers of digging large sand holes. They warned that they can be hard to see, are dangerous for people and wildlife, and make it difficult for ocean rescue personnel to drive on the beach day and night.”
The rule of thumb is never to dig a hole deeper than your knees when you stand in the hole. And a good practice is to fill in that hole before you leave.
Sand holes have been known to collapse, requiring rescue and first aid, and in some tragic cases, also resulting in death. But luckily no such tragedy befalls Pinky Pink, because Super Cape and the Ring brothers rush to the rescue!
Turtle Adventure
...by Swarna Mohan
May through October is turtle nesting season in Florida. Where I live, staff members from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) patrol the beach everyday. They look for turtle footprints, find the nests, and cordon them off. Each sea turtle lays more than 100 eggs, and the CMA staff monitor the nests daily. They add cages as extra protection when there are coyote sightings. If a beach nourishment program is scheduled, they dig up the eggs and move them to a safer location. I was fortunate enough to witness such a dig.
The incubation period is roughly between 45-55 days. Moonlight reflecting off the water guides the turtle hatchlings to the sea, but sometimes bright lights can disorient them. One year, a group of hatchlings ended up in our condo pool! Beach condo owners are now required to use wildlife-friendly or low LED bulbs for outdoor lighting during turtle nesting season.
The sad truth is that only about one in 1000 hatchlings lives long enough to become an adult. Many don't even make it to the sea. Coyotes, crows, and other predators are a constant danger. Heavy surf can be a problem for nests too close to the water. Then there are freak accidents like water pouring down a crab hole and flooding a nest.
But our book is about a baby turtle that does make it to the sea - thanks to Super Cape and his friends. Hope you enjoy this adventure.
How the Adventures Began
...by Swarna Mohan
I walk on the beach every day and pick up trash. I save toys that I find and donate them to Goodwill. Sorting through the toys, I found a small pink ball, a green rubber fish, and a small plastic dog with a cape. The glimmer of a story began to form in my head. I had helped a fellow walker get some fish stranded in a tide pool back into the sea, and I thought that would make a great story for my grandson Rohan, who lives abroad.
I made a video story for Rohan using the toys I found, and he loved it. He asked for more videos. So I made some more. The videos did the rounds in our family and all the kids had positive reviews.
Then came the idea of turning the video stories into picture books. My friend Neena, who had just retired from her busy medical practice, offered to try her hand at illustrations. And that is how The Adventures of Super Cape and Friends came to be. You can watch one of the original videos below.
The story narrated in this video went through several iterations and became:
Super Cape Tracks Tiny Turtle
Reviews for Super Cape Saves Stripey Fish
Super cute children’s book about adventures at the beach.
The story is thought provoking and engaging with characters that young minds can relate to. The illustrations are beautiful and the object search was fun!
My son loves it and we both look forward to more adventures with this series!
This book is wonderful! It's fun, and easy to read for little kids and those learning English.
A wonderful book for my sea loving 3 year old Son. Super Cape Saves Stripey Fish is a sweet story that sparks imagination and problem solving in young children. The day after we read the book my son reenacted the rescue scene of Stripey Fish at the beach. We are looking forward to more books in the series.