Patrick’s Great Ocean Journey
Writing | Illustration | Self-publishing
Patrick is a baby loggerhead turtle — small and new to everything. He hatches on a beach in Cape Verde, runs to the sea with his little brothers and sisters, and is swept out into the wide Atlantic. In the open ocean, he finds friends, food, and a few other things. His instinct keeps pulling him onward — where does it take him?
Through Patrick’s journey, children meet the real life of a loggerhead turtle and the ocean it grows up in, from the beaches of Cape Verde to the open Atlantic. The story also introduces the problem of plastic waste and the work being done to protect turtles, in a way a young child can follow. At its heart, it is about friendship: learning that you do not have to face a big world alone, and that letting others help you is part of growing up.
About the book
The story is set in Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, whose beaches are among the world’s most important nesting grounds for loggerhead turtles. Loggerheads hatch on the sand at night and race to the sea, then spend years crossing the open Atlantic before they return — guided by the Earth’s magnetic field — to the very beach where they were born. Along the way, they face many dangers, including plastic waste that drifts in the water and looks just like the jellyfish they eat. In the story, a baby turtle named Patrick hatches on a Cape Verde beach, is swept out into the Atlantic, and grows up far from home — until the pull brings him back to Sal Island.
The book mentions the Cape Verdean conservation organisations working on the islands, whose efforts have helped increase Cape Verde’s loggerhead numbers. Along with the story, there is a creative workbook with drawing, writing, and other ocean-themed activity pages.
Children’s book: 6–8 years old | 96 pages | Paperback ISBN: 978-8397946354 | Hardcover ISBN: 978-8397946361
Adventures on Sal Island
Adventures on Sal Island is a series of three children’s books set on Sal Island, Cape Verde. Self-published and available through Amazon.
Patrick’s Great Ocean Journey is the second book from this series. The other two are: Lua and the Shark Who Talked in Bubbles and Martina and the Cats of Santa Maria.
I started writing the stories while working in a small tattoo studio in Santa Maria, on Sal. In each book, I placed some life lessons connected to one or more of my Cape Verdean friends — Patrick, Martina and Helena. Their values were my main inspiration. Unfortunately, I had to go back to Europe before finishing the books. But I completed and self-published all three stories later, as a gift for the friends I left on the island.
Creating these books gave me a lot of joy. I may write one or two more when time allows.