National Geographic Kids Ocean Animals: Who’s Who in the Deep Blue by Johnna Rizzo

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Ocean Animals: Who’s Who in the Deep Blue
Author: Johnna Rizzo
Published May 17th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

Goodreads Summary: From life in coral reefs, to sharks and rays, to sea birds, kids will meet incredible sea-based animals in action, including the blue tang fish and clownfish. It’s all captured with beautiful underwater photography and features cool info about our oceans — including fascinating facts, maps, and marine conservation tips and efforts.

Review: I probably sound like a broken record, but every time I encounter another National Geographic text, I come to appreciate what they are doing for the informational nonfiction world for kids. This text is no different. This text is a bit more in depth than some of the other NG books we’ve reviewed recently, and it is definitely for a reader who is looking to go to the next level with their ocean knowledge. It scaffolds perfectly starting with overviews of the different oceans and the different layers in the oceans. This lays a nice foundation of knowledge for the rest of the book. Then it delves into the animals starting with coral reefs then hitting on every type of animal you can think of. Finally, the book ends with information about conservation. And all of this is accompanied by National Geographic’s beautiful wildlife photography.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Like I stated above, this text is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about oceans and the wildlife that live in the oceans. Not only will the text be useful for an independent reading option, it would be a nice edition to a text set when discussing ecology or as a resource when studying the ocean.

Discussion Questions: What are some ways you can protect the ocean?; What are the different layers of the ocean?; Why is it important to keep our oceans safe?; What are some animals who are being threatened by over fishing? Over capture?; What is your favorite ocean animal?

We Flagged: “Introduction: Imagine what it must be like to be a dolphin, living in a realm of liquid space, listening to the whistles and clicks of nearby family members. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a jellyfish, with 99 percent of your body made of water? Or how about a clam, hunkered down in a soft, sandy bottom, sipping plankton-filled water through a special tube, rather like drinking soup through a straw?” (by Sylvia Earle, p. 7)

“Coral Reefs: Bursting with color and teeming with sea creatures big and small, coral reefs may support as much life as the rain forests do. In face, about one-third of all the ocean’s creatures live at least part of their lives on reefs. That’s tens of thousands of marine species in total. But what makes the coral reef habitat particularly special is the fact that it’s a living thing itself, made up of the shells of tiny sea creatures. And that’s also exactly what makes reefs so fragile and easy to damage.” (p. 12)

Read This If You Loved: Nonfiction books about oceans, Extreme Oceans by Seymour Simon, Ocean Animals by Animal Planet, Please Be Nice to Sharks by Matt Weiss

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters for providing copies for review!!**