Desert Beneath the Sea - Hardcover

McGovern, Ann; Clark, Eugene; Phillips, Craig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590426389 ISBN 13: 9780590426381

Publisher: Scholastic, 1991

Synopsis

Scientific findings, colorful illustrations, and scientific research introduce young readers to twenty-four fascinating underwater species

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

From Chapter 1: Come to the Desert Beneath the Sea. You are gliding under water, a scuba tank on your back. You are weightless as you float along the coral reef. You marvel at the colorful corals and fish in every rainbow hue. Then you move away from the reef and swim to the shallow sandy bottom, to the desert beneath the sea.

At first, you see only barren sand, dappled by sunlight. Everywhere you look, the sand seems empty of life. Gone are the colorful corals and fishes.

You look carefully at this desert beneath the sea. You see a small pointed pebble. Wait. The pebble is really a nose with a round eye on either side of it, looking at you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see something moving in the sand. You look up to see a tail of a pale fish disappearing into the sand. You look again. There are hundreds of these fishes in the distance. And next to where you saw the pale tail disappear are many noses and eyes looking at you.

Grains of sand jump in a wild dance. Under the sand grains are tiny, tiny creatures.

The sandy area that had seemed so empty only moments before is really a world teeming with life.

In the open sand, the creatures of the undersea desert are exposed to danger. They must find ways to hide from their enemies. Some creatures fool their enemies by camouflage - skillfully blending against the background they match. Other creatures whoosh down deep into the sand. Some fish wriggle backwards into the sand. Some wriggle sideways. Certain creatures stay just below the top of the sand.

How do you know they are there? You must take the time to stop and train your eyes to notice telltale signs.

This is a book about the desert beneath the sea and how scientists study the creatures that live there.

But it is also the story of a great friendship that grew between two people who love nature. Ann McGovern introduced Eugenie Clark to the joys of writing for children. Eugenie introduced Ann to the wonders of the desert beneath the sea. We hope you like our story about these fascinating creatures we have grown to love.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-4-- McGovern and Clark have banded together to produce an interesting array of windows on the creatures inhabiting the "desert" beneath the sea--open sand areas providing an exposed habitat at best. Readers meet such rare creatures as the horned sand octopus, the long-nosed sea moth, and the jawfish, as well as more populous beings, including garden eels, tilefish, and a symbiotic odd couple--the shrimp and the goby. The book also investigates the scientific procedures used by marine biologists, and explains how data accrued can be analyzed in the lab and integrated with previous knowledge to produce new and exciting configurations. It is heavily illustrated with Phillips's colorful watercolor-and-pencil drawings. While the book does not provide in-depth material, it does give insight into the scientific process, the place of serendipity in investigation, a look at some particularly fascinating marine creatures, and--most importantly--at a cooperative effort between two women in widely divergent professions, whose interest and skills have been blended seamlessly for readers' edification and inspiration. --Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0590426389
• ISBN 13: 9780590426381
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Phillips Craig