Australian Sealife

Children's Literature

Australia has the unique distinction of being a continent surrounded by water. The waters and shoreline are teeming with fascinating creatures not found anywhere else on the planet. Mason Crest Publisher's "Nature Kids" series, brings this abundant life to young readers through the pages of this fact-filled over-sized book. Brilliant color photos provide readers with an up-close look at these creatures and easy-on-the eyes text makes this volume a hit with the young. Penguins, whales, dolphins, sharks and rays are revealed in their natural habitat. The Great Barrier Reef provides a bountiful home to many unique and colorful fish. Reef fish are able to change their color and their sex when necessary to their survival. Bannerfish eat tiny animals they find on the coral. Beautiful angelfish post guards at their part of the coral pool and clown fish live among the poisonous tentacles of sea anemones. Beautiful fish can also be deadly like the Lionfish. Blue-Ringed Octopus, Sea Jelly and Igima's have fangs that inject venom into their attackers. Concepts such as camouflage are also introduced and simply explained. Readers are also introduced to hard and soft coral animals called polyps, sea sponges and sea worms. An index and further reading resources and Internet sites to visit are included in the end notes. This is an interesting and useful volume to add to the shelves of the home or school library. 2003, Mason Crest Publishers,
— Sue Reichard

School Library Journal

Gr 2-5-These titles offer extensive illustrations and limited content. Each animal is given a spread: one large full-page photo opposite a paragraph or two of text and a smaller picture or two. The photography is colorful and sharp throughout. The writing style is direct but occasionally inconsistent, as sometimes two or more animals are grouped together in one paragraph, while at other times they are separated. Some statements are not entirely accurate, as in the discussion of the fairy penguin being "the only penguin that breeds in Australia." There is a limited number of books on these animals for this audience, but there is significant overlap in these titles in terms of interest and coverage. Because of the excellent photos, both volumes are good additions for their "ooh and ah" factor, but are rather weak in supplying detailed information.-Paul J. Bisnette, Silas Bronson Library, Waterbury, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.