The Girl and the Parrotfish

Maya adores the ocean, and one sunny Saturday she steps into the clear shallows near the beach. There she encounters Pip, a vivid parrotfish with a beak like a parrot's, bright orange eyes and a fan-shaped tail. Pip describes how it nibbles algae from the coral to keep the reef healthy and grinds old coral and rock into the soft white sand that covers the shore. Maya is astonished that one small fish does so much for the entire reef.

When a plastic bag drifts toward the coral, Maya reacts swiftly, scooping it up with her sun hat and vowing to keep the water clean. Eager to share what she has learned, she runs home and tells her friends Leo and Zoe. Together they decide to become reef helpers: picking up trash, creating a poster about parrotfish for their class and drawing pictures that show others how to protect the ocean. This gentle tale by Aysel Banu YAVUZAL introduces young readers to the role parrotfish play in a coral reef and to simple ways children can help keep beaches and oceans clean. It can be read on Masal İzle.