How do you teach ocean conservancy to children besides talking about the danger of plastic waste? All great conservationists, Jacques Cousteau, Steve Irwing, Ric O’Barry, and many others have said the same thing: “People protect what they love!” I couldn’t agree more.I was born in France by the sea. Every night, my mother and I used to walk to the sea, just to look at her and smell her perfume. At high tides we had a show! I was introduced to the wonders of the sea by Jacques Cousteau’s TV series. He had an amazing way to describe marine life by giving each creature human traits. He touched my heart with his poetic narration.In his lifetime, Jacques Cousteau warned that the health of the sea was deteriorating. However, he trusted that the young would turn things around. Over the years conservationists have made a small dent in the problem. There is much talk about ocean conservation, but dolphins, whales, and baby seals continue to be butchered; 90% of sharks are gone due to finning to make shark fin soup; and overfishing is a huge problem that is not being addressed.The words “dolphins, whales, and sea turtles,” are generic, but as soon as you give each creature a name, they suddenly become special. Once these animals go through an adventure and experience human emotions, children will identify with the characters and admire their courage and determination to overcome adversity. Parents want stories with substance that can teach children life lessons.Children are the future. We need to start educating them by winning their hearts with inspiring stories about sea creatures and the ocean. It is only by developing in children compassion for animals and exposing them to the wonders of the seas that they will develop an appreciation of the ocean and become Sea Samurai. There are wonderful children’s stories about animals for preschoolers, but books about animals for the primary grades tend to leave stories behind. These books contain mostly facts about classes of animals. Juvenile fantasy is restricted to unicorn or vampire stories. Grownups have no problem in immersing themselves in the fantasy of STAR WARS or THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Adventure books about the ocean and sea creatures are long overdue. The last great books about the ocean were MOBY DICK and TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. We need to entertain and inspire children to protect animals and the ocean with adventures they will all remember.Without a healthy ocean, the human race is doomed. Many conservationists have stated: “People protect what they love!” It is by touching the heart rather than the intellect that we will save the ocean. Therefore, we need to promote books and movies that will encourage this viewpoint.