Olivia's Magic Conch

Jack Hudson, marine biologist and super dad finally gets his federal grant to work on his project in the Caribbean. The only drawback is he will be gone on Olivia's birthday; the first day of their annual search for the elusive magic conch. While at sea an unfortunate mishap results in Jack falling overboard and is not found.  The best day of her life turns into the worst. As time passes Olivia finds solace in the memories and teachings of her dad and one year to the day on her twelfth birthday, she decides to resume the search on her own. Her dad always told her the conch shell had magic powers... will Olivia get to experience this "magic?"

Everything was right in Olivia's world; her eleventh birthday was in a few days and her dad, a marine biologist promised this would be their lucky year. They would find the elusive magic conch; the shell he spoke of so often and for which they had searched so many years. She believed him..because he never broke a promise. When he got word his federal grant was approved to work on his environmental project in the Caribbean she was as happy as he, until he told her he would not be home for her birthday. Disappointed and sad she did deal with it and off he went. What she couldn't deal with was the phone call they received the morning of her birthday saying her dad was missing at sea. It was the worst day of her life and she refused to ever celebrate it again. One year to the day with the wonderful memories of the fun experiences she shared with her dad, she decided to resume the search on her own. The quest to find the shell never far from her mind and her belief that her dad was still alive Olivia sits at the water's edge burrowing her feet deeper and deeper into the wet sand brought on by each new wave. Lost in thought with a tear welling up in her eye, her big toe comes to rest on something hard. Intrigued, she begins to dig vigorously with her bare hands. Little does she know she is about to unearth the power that will lead her on a magical journey...and what she will find.

A New Jersey native living most of her life at the Jersey shore, P. A. Zimmerman is a former regional education manager/ seminar trainer with a penchant for holding the interest and attention of her audience. Loving the shore as she does, she writes a heartwarming adventure fable set in present day for ages eight and up. Using her talent to entertain while educating she gently sheds light on a serious ongoing problem that could prove deadly to all sea and wildlife who depend on the beaches and water for sustanence. "Given the current state of the debate of the environment, particularly due to the Gulf oil spill, Olivia's Magic Conch is a rare thing- a children's book that actually ties into current events without seeming forced. Zimmerman nicely ends her book with a gentle plea for protecting the seas and beaches. Her love of nature and the Jersey shore comes through on nearly every page of her book and I would think that anyone who reads this book would think twice about being so passive in their response to climate changes."