Overview
Full-color illustrationsDiscover the exotic animal life that inhabits the ocean floor. Children will be fascinated to learn how animals, from bioluminescent fish to giant tube worms, survive. A history of deep-sea exploration from sonar to submersibles shows how far scientists have come in their ability to investigate these great depths.
Sneed B. Collard III has written more than 30 books for young people, including The Forest in the Clouds, an IRA Teachers' Choice, and Leaving Home (Houghton Mifflin). Sneed lives in Missoula, Montana.
Gregory Wenzel's art has been seen on The Discovery Channel, in Michael Crichton's book, The Lost World, and in museums. He lives in Maynard, Massachusetts.
Reveals the animal life that lives in the deepest oceans and examines the technology that allows scientists to conduct research in areas characterized by trenches, vents, and seeps.
Synopsis
Full-color illustrations
Discover the exotic animal life that inhabits the ocean floor. Children will be fascinated to learn how animals, from bioluminescent fish to giant tube worms, survive. A history of deep-sea exploration from sonar to submersibles shows how far scientists have come in their ability to investigate these great depths.
Sneed B. Collard III has written more than 30 books for young people, including The Forest in the Clouds, an IRA Teachers' Choice, and Leaving Home (Houghton Mifflin). Sneed lives in Missoula, Montana.
Gregory Wenzel's art has been seen on The Discovery Channel, in Michael Crichton's book, The Lost World, and in museums. He lives in Maynard, Massachusetts.
Publishers Weekly
For budding oceanographers, The Deep-Sea Floor by Sneed B. Collard III, illus. by Gregory Wenzel, sheds light on the denizens of the deep and presents the history of ocean exploration, from hundreds of years ago, when many thought the ocean was bottomless, to the present, where scientists routinely utilize "deep-sea submersibles" (or vehicles) to troll the depths.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
For budding oceanographers, The Deep-Sea Floor by Sneed B. Collard III, illus. by Gregory Wenzel, sheds light on the denizens of the deep and presents the history of ocean exploration, from hundreds of years ago, when many thought the ocean was bottomless, to the present, where scientists routinely utilize "deep-sea submersibles" (or vehicles) to troll the depths.Children's Literature
This fascinating and up-to-the-minute account of the sea floor and the animals that live there is sure to attract fans of the odd, weird, and cutting-edge. Collard explains clearly how the ocean floor changes and how scientists refer to various depths. Readers are informed that dwellers in the near-lightless depths can't eat the absent plants so rely on gradually and ever-sinking fecal pellets of the sea-going creatures swimming above them, and "marine snow," the bits and pieces that fall from animals and plants above. Text explains bioluminescence and its purposes in deep-sea fish, and other adaptations that bottom-crawlers must make, including those that live near deep-sea vents and cold seeps. To round out the picture, text shows the deep-sea submersibles currently in use and the depth to which they can dive. Young readers may notice that measurements are given in metric first, with English feet in parentheses, but one wonders when American readers will warm to the correct use of metric measurement in science, let alone in everyday use. This is one of the most useful and well-written survey books for this age group, well supported by a glossary, four nonfiction resource books, and three Web sites. End papers depict and label 18 deep-sea critters, which suggests that children might conduct further research beyond this book. 2003, Charlesbridge, Ages 7 to 11.— Susan Hepler, Ph.D.