About the Author:

Nancy T. Lucas graduated from College of Charleston with a BS in Business. She lives in Charleston, SC and is a freelance cartoonist and a web designer. Peppy is her favorite coral planula.

Formatted as a comic book (24 pages), “Peppy’s Coral Kingdom” is an entertaining, educational and visually rich way for kids ages 8-10 to learn about coral reef pollution.

Throughout the book, there are scientific factoids such as, why do coral get sick? and, what is an artificial reef? Also, at the end of the book, there are several ways to help Peppy and her friends by being the eyes and ears of the reef. There are many web sites for readers to log on to for even more information from NOAA and other dedicated coral reef web sites.

In “Peppy´s Coral Kingdom”, Peppy is a young, homeless coral planula - a baby coral polyp. She desperately needs to find out how to clean up an abandoned reef so that she can rebuild it with all her brothers and sisters and cousins. During her quest, Peppy meets Queen Connie, a conch who was banished from the beautiful Natural Reef by the Royal Moray Eels, and her advisor, Brian the Brain Coral.

Peppy is a smart little coral planula. She and her friends must also convince the Land Sharks that coral reefs are important because they protect land from destructive waves created by storms and earthquakes.

Pollution and global warming are massive threats to everyone in the world, not just tropical coastal communities. Scientists believe that dying coral reefs are the first indicator of a permanently changing world ecosystem. If the water warms up and reefs die, then all other living things on the planet may not have much time left either…

“Peppy’s Coral Kingdom” is available at Blue Bicycle Books at 420 King Street in Charleston, SC and at www.amazon.com for $15.99 (USD). For wholesale orders, please contact www.booksurge.com.