Discover the Oceans

Front Cover:

Summary:

Discover the Oceans: The World's Largest Ecosystem leads kids ages 8 and up on an adventure to one of Earth's most mysterious places. Home to colorful reefs, strange and exotic creatures, deep canyons, and enormous mountain ranges, the world's oceans cover 90 percent of the planet and a world of extremes. Seemingly invincible, it can be hard to understand just how threatened the oceans really are.

“Discover the Oceans offers readers an amazing journey into our underwater world. In an easy-to-read format, it is chock-full of fascinating facts and important information that can help young environmentalists appreciate how important this fragile environment is to our planet.” —Marianne Berkes, award-winning author of “Over in the Ocean, in a Coral Reef” and other nature-awareness children’s books

Review:

CLEAR REVIEW (SWON Libraries) — The book on oceans is an amazing resource for any child interested in the world's largest ecosystem. If you had a question to be answered about the ocean, you would more than likely find it in the eighty-six page resource guide. The cartoon-type pictures, maps, charts, and boxes of "fascinating facts" bring the complex information to life for children.

Endorsement:

"Discover the Oceans is a lively, engaging, and accurate description of all facets of our Oceans. This entertaining resource will capture the imagination of the budding ocean explorer." -Dr. S. Bradley Moran, Assistant Vice President for Research Administration and Professor of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA.

Resources:

Books

Bailey, Maurice and Bailey, Maralyn. Staying Alive! New York. David McKay Company, 1974.

Ballard, Robert.The Eternal Darkness: A Personal History of Deep-Sea Exploration. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press, 2000.

Broad, Williams J. The Universe Below: Discovering the Secrets of the Deep Sea. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Day, Trevor. Oceans. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1990.

Ganeri, Anita. The Oceans Atlas: a Pictorial Atlas of the World’s Oceans. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1994.

Gatty, Harold. Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1999.

Hall, Michele and Hall,Ward. Secrets of the Ocean Realm. New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, 1997.

Hickman, Pamela. Turtle Rescue. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2005.

Hutchinson, Stephen and Hawkins, Lawrence. Oceans: a Visual Guide. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2005.

Kiley, Deborah Scaling. Albatross. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Kunzig, Robert. The Restless Sea: Exploring the World Beneath the Waves. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999.

Kurlansky, Mark. The Story of Salt. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006.

Leslie, Edward. Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988.

Natural History of the Oceans. New York: DK Publishing, 2001.

O’Hanlon, Redmond. Trawler. New York: Knopf, 2005.

Robertson, Dougal. Survive the Savage Sea. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973.

Sauvain, Philip. Oceans. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books, 1996.

Viera, Linda. The Seven Seas. New York: Walker & Company, 2003.

Magazine Articles

“Biologists Close In on Mystery of Seat Turtles’ ‘Lost Years.’ University of Florida, October 3, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2008 from www.sciencedaily.com.

“Canteen Science: The Soggy Spud.” Odyssey Magazine, February 2008, p. 26.

“Castaways Died Insane from Thirst.” The New York Times, May 19, 1914.

“Dust Storms in Sahara Desert Trigger Huge Plankton Blooms in Eastern Atlantic.” National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, February 10, 2008.

“Water from Thin Air—Harvesting Dew.” Odyssey Magazine, February 2008, p. 27.

“World’s Largest Marine Protected Area Created in Pacific Ocean.” Conservation International, February 18, 2008.

Black, Richard. “Protection needed for ‘marine Serengitis.” BBC News, April 8, 2004.

Young, Emma. “Polynesians Beat Columbus to Americas.” The New Scientist, June 2, 2004.

About the Author:

Lauri Berkenkamp is the author of five books for kids. Writing under the pen name Maxine Anderson she has written Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself, which was excerpted in the New York Times Book Review and Christian Science Monitor, chosen as the #7 BookSense Children’s Pick for Summer 2006 and named Book of the Year by the Society for School Librarians International in 2006; Great Civil War Projects You Can Build Yourself, which was excerpted in Boys’ Life magazine and called “a fascinating gem of a book” by the New York Times Book Review; Explore Spring and Explore Winter, which were chosen as Parents’ Choice Recommended Books for 2007, and Discover the Amazon, which will be released by Nomad Press in December 2008.
Lauri’s books have been praised for their interesting facts, fun and inventive activities, and clear writing. She takes joy in learning about the different subjects of her books and it shows in the excitement of her writing and creativity of her activities, which she has tackled and tested for fun, ease of use, and educational value. A mother of four children, Lauri has the added benefit of writing for her kids—they give her feedback and demonstrate what interests kids between ages 9 to 12.

About the Illustrator:

Chuck Forsman is an award-winning cartoonist and a recent graduate of The Center for Cartoon Studies. He currently resides in Vermont where he works in a deli and a library when he isn’t drawing. He also has a website showcasing his work, www.chuckmcbuck.com.

Activity Description:

Believe it or not, you can actually create freshwater from seawater through
a process called distillation.

Activity Link:

Click here to view or download this activity

Media Kit: