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WALKER BOOKS, September 2026
Written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Jenni Desmond

 

(Jenni's illustrations are created primarily by hand using watercolour, acrylic, pencil crayon, pen and pencil.  They are sometimes lightly finished digitally)

 

Two children and their grandmother discover a “sea heart” on the beach: a smooth, round bean the size of one child’s palm, which has traveled the world on the Gulf Stream’s current. The trio traces the bean’s wondrous journey on a map—through seagrass meadows brimming with turtles and tiger sharks, coral reefs, underwater mountains traversed by whales, and kelp forests bobbing with seals—until it washes up, a full year later, on their rainy beach in Scotland. Narrative nonfiction at its best and most beautiful, this companion to One World from zoologist Nicola Davies and award-winning artist Jenni Desmond is a fluid, well-researched story about the way currents connect us all to the vast ocean that colors our planet blue. Tackling, too, the global impact of humans on the ocean—especially the perils of plastic—the book employs fascinating facts, gentle urgency, and specific conservation success stories to point a wise and hopeful path forward.

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★"Desmond’s illustrations perfectly capture the curiosity and wonder of the children as well as the marvels of the ocean. This ­factual and life-affirming book celebrates our ocean and reminds us to keep it healthy and wild." 

STARRED REVIEW - School Library Journal 

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''Colour-drenched illustrations feature dense textures, soft watercolor washes, and intricate wildlife details that create a dreamy, immersive sense of wonder. . . . A lush, tide-tossed journey rooted in hope.

Kirkus 

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Big ideas and bright illustrations combine to enthrall readers with this tale of two young beachcombers making marvelous discoveries.''

Booklist

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