Ocean Explorer! (Crabtree Connections). Angela Royston. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-7864-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7842-4 (RLB.). Subject Headings: Oceanography-Juvenile literature. Ocean-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Sherry Faller. *** ½ /4
	Save the Oceans. (Crabtree Connections). Sarah Levete. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-7879-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7857-8 (RLB.). Subject Headings: Marine pollution-Juvenile literature. Marine ecology-Juvenile literature. Marine animals-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Sherry Faller. *** ½ /4
	Ocean: It's My Home. (Crabtree Connections). Angela Royston. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2012. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-7873-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-7851-6 (RLB.). Subject Headings: Marine animals-Juvenile literature. Marine ecology-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Sherry Faller. *** ½ /4

excerpt:

Rays are wide, flat fish. They swim through water by flapping their wings. Giant Ray – A ray has a long, thin tail. The giant manta ray is the biggest ray of all. Manta rays have no teeth. They swallow tiny sea animals. A manta ray is big but harmless. (From Ocean: It's My Home.)

This set of three books is a wonderful resource for early readers. The full coloured pages are exciting as well as informative. Any students studying the undersea world will delight in the scary pictures of crabs with eyes that are on tubes and that of many rows of sharks' teeth.

      Each book is written in short, easy-to-read sentences with bolded words explained in the glossary. The index and table of contents offer a perfect opportunity to teach the use of these tools at a young age. The fonts are large, and the text is in short clusters captioned around the photos that are splashed around the double page spreads. The suggested websites listed in "Further Reading" all work and offer great information for older children.

      Ocean Explorer! is written in the first person narrative style. One picture shows a diver holding an underwater camera that was used to take the photos in the book. The huge, close up pictures of seahorses and crabs are labelled to demonstrate the various parts of the animals. Readers may be disappointed that the puffer fish on the cover is not found within the book. Another concern is the incorrect 'fact' that the jellyfish is made of jelly. All other facts are correct, however.

      Save the Oceans explains in simple terms how humans are harming the ocean wildlife. Topics such as dirty water, garbage dumped, overfishing, oil slicks, coral protection and the warming of the oceans are covered. Each problem is paired with possible ways that small children could make a difference.

      Ocean: It's My Home tells about select animals from various parts of the ocean, the deep dark, the coral reefs, cold waters and even above the water. This book would make a good springboard to a more in depth (no pun intended) study of the topics it introduces.

      This trio of books will be revisited and enjoyed by young students. They are a must for any primary school library.

Highly Recommended.

Sherry Faller is a teacher librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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