William Sargent

A young girl and her pet bull travel to New Orleans to aid in recovery efforts after the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill in this picture-book from Bill Sargent, a science writer who has worked for the NOVA series on PBS. Taking a ride in a Coast Guard helicopter, Lilly and Minot observe the damage, before pitching in at a cleaning station set up to help wildlife affected by the disaster. In the process they meet Tong, a Vietnamese-American shrimp-boat captain who tells them a little bit about his life, and about his dedication to helping the gulf recover.

Although some of the earlier titles seem difficult to track down, Lilly and Minot Visit the New Orleans Oil Spill is apparently the fifth book in a series devoted to this girl/bull duo's adventures, which have taken them around the world. I would probably never have heard of these characters, had I not stumbled across this one on a bargain cart outside one of Manhattan's used bookstore, and been intrigued. All in all, I found that I liked the idea of it better than the reality. The story felt a little disjointed, and the artwork didn't greatly appeal to me. I wish that this were not so, as I have been looking for children's stories with this theme. I will have to keep looking, I guess.… (meer)