Across The Big Blue Sea - Hardcover

Jakki Wood

3.8

15 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792273087 ISBN 13: 9780792273080

Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books, 1998

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In an educational picture book about ocean life, a small toy boat travels into the ocean off the coast of California and journeys past such wonderful creatures as otters, killer whales, flying fish, a blue whale, and dolphins. Children's BOMC.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

First published in Britain as The Deep Blue Sea, this is an extraordinary ocean wildlife book for beginners, in which the addition of a tiny boatsmaller than the eye of a blue whale or the bottlenose of a dolphincreates anticipation by forecasting the journey. Wood (Animal Hullabaloo, 1995, etc.) charts the travels of a small toy boat as it bobbles in the surf off a California beach on its way to Australia, the Indian Ocean, the south of Africa, through the Sargasso Sea, and across the Atlantic, ending in a not-quite-around-the-world 25,000-mile journey to the southwest shores of Great Britain. Wind and ocean currents send the boat past manta rays and giant clams, flying fish and loggerhead turtles. Just above the line of water, single sentences of text suggest the barest outline of the boat's sojourn. The real story lies under the water where simple line drawings set against inky seas depict brown pelicans diving and puffer fish staring, gulper eels slithering and anglers waiting to lure prey. Each undersea creature is clearly labeled, matching pictures with names for easy identification. As curious as the macaroni penguins investigating the boat from an ice floe off the southern tip of Africa, children will learn a smattering of geography as they trace the boat's travels along a route marked with arrows in a final world map. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright �1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3?While playing on a beach in California, Tom pushes his small toy boat into the ocean. As readers follow its journey across the Pacific to the waters off Australia, on to the Indian Ocean, and across the Atlantic to its final destination off the coast of Great Britain, they can view the changing animal life above and below the surface of the water. They might even notice a sunken ship along the way. The spirited watercolor and pencil renderings of the creatures, all on two-page spreads, are uncluttered and clearly labeled. Wood's use of lighter and darker shades of blue, green, and yellow effectively mirrors different climate changes and ocean depths. One of the best features of the book is the map that traces the boat's 25,000 mile trip. The sea creatures that appear on it help readers match geographical areas with the story. While no information is given on any of the animals, this fictional journey may serve as a catalyst to research in the nonfiction section of the library. A good place to begin might be Joanne Oppenheim's Oceanarium (Bantam, 1994; o.p.). Or, use Suse Macdonald's Sea Shapes (Harcourt/Gulliver, 1994) to engage children in an art activity involving shapes and sea creatures.?Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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