Overview
You’re deep inside an endangered habitat. In the blue waters of southern Florida you come face to face with nature’s gentle giant. Meet the manatee. He’s playful, sometimes clumsy, and he rolls around when he’s happy. Hear that?! He just squealed with delight. Learn why his world is under threat from pollution and development, and what young environmentalists can do to protect that world. Brian Skerry’s astonishing photographs and amazing first-hand adventures reveal the world of the manatee as never before.
Synopsis
You’re deep inside an endangered habitat. In the blue waters of southern Florida you come face to face with nature’s gentle giant. Meet the manatee. He’s playful, sometimes clumsy, and he rolls around when he’s happy. Hear that?! He just squealed with delight. Learn why his world is under threat from pollution and development, and what young environmentalists can do to protect that world. Brian Skerry’s astonishing photographs and amazing first-hand adventures reveal the world of the manatee as never before.
Children's Literature
As with most work put out by National Geographic, the photography in this book is just stunning. The author literally got face to face with the manatees he was studying. He and his daughter swam with these animals on a family trip to Florida. The story he tells about a playful young manatee swimming and playing alongside his daughter is lovely. His information about manatees, the threats to their existence, their needs, and other facts about them is just as good. He presents facts within the text, as captions to photographs, and in informative sidebars. The words are written in a very approachable language that is conversational in style. Broken up into several chapters, the book is organized in a way that makes finding information very easy. Not only are the chapters packed full of interesting things to learn about manatees, but there is an informative "Facts at a Glance" section in the back of the book. This is a book that would make a great addition to any bookcase—classroom, library, or home. Reviewer: Colleen Kessler