Olly the Oyster Cleans the Bay
by Elaine Ann Allen, illustrated by Kelli Nash

“You don’t understand,” said Olly. “I want to do
something important.”

“Important?” said Mr. Oyster.

“Yes,” Olly explained. “I want to help clean the bay
like the blue crab and the barnacle and the sea
cucumber and the sea urchin.”

There once was a young oyster named Olly who lived
in the Chesapeake Bay. He loved to drift with the
currents, but Olly had been traveling his whole life
and wanted to settle down. He wanted to do
something important—help clean the Chesapeake
Bay.

But what can a little oyster do? He doesn’t have
pincers or fingers or sharp teeth or legs and feet.
All rights reserved.
Journey under the Chesapeake Bay with Olly's little minnow friend and find out how
Olly the Oyster Cleans the Bay.
2008 | Preschool to grade 3 | 32 pp | Full-color illustrations | 7x10

Purchase at:  

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble.com

Cornell Maritime Press / Schiffer Books
Olly cares about the environment. He works hard
every day cleaning the water in the Chesapeake
Bay.

Here are just a few great things about Olly and his
oyster friends:

•        Oysters are great for the environment.
•        Oysters filter and clean the water just by
    breathing.
•        A single oyster can filter 60 gallons of water
    a day!
•        Oysters live together in groups called oyster
    reefs.
•        Oyster reefs provide homes for many other
    sea animals like crabs, worms, and small fish.
Clean up with Olly!