With a wife and busy family of 3 children, Lane McDanal found time in between naps, husband and father duty, and his full-time career as a local pharmacist to write a children’s book that is both entertaining and educational. Shelly the Sea Turtle aims to help children learn about keeping the beach area and water safe for not only Shelly and her hatchlings, but all marine life.

This beautifully illustrated book brings awareness of the affects pollution has on marine life and sea life conservation.

The McDanal family has lived in Miramar Beach since 2009, creating family time and raising their children just minutes from the sand. Besides having the gulf as a backyard, McDanal says the inspiration to write a children’s book came simply from reading to his boys every night, all under the age of 5.

“We are raising our kids to not only love the beach, but to respect the environment. Everyone has a part in taking care of this world. Hopefully, my book will make a difference,” McDanal said.

Incorporating the topic of sea life conservation in a children’s book for kids 8 years and younger was especially important to McDanal. He feels it is translatable to all of us.

He hopes all beach-goers can learn and apply the lessons from the book on how to be good stewards of our beaches by keeping them clean of trash, flat, and dark.

Released in December 2018, the book has already made its way around the country to California, the East Coast even as far as Exuma, Bahamas. Both the Navarre Sea Turtle Center and Bald Head Island Conservancy in North Carolina use it as a resource in their children’s centers.

Shelly the Sea Turtle is available for purchase online at Mascot Books as well as Amazon, and locally at Sundog Books and Hidden Lantern Books.

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CAROLINE STEPHENSON is a 30A local and contributing writer.