Customer Reviews

Here is the Coral Reef

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only does my niece love this book, I'm quite fond of the series, too! The illustrations are detailed and painstakingly accurate, but the real treasure is Dunphy's language. The motif may seem simple, but it actively tunes in a child's curiosity, making her or him eager to turn the page and see what's next.

Young children ages 4-8 (the target audience) will enjoy this book about the life that inhabits the reef - the colorful and unique inhabitants such as parrotfish, wrasses, cod, anemone, clownfish, sponge, turtle, ray, remoras, sharks, and eels. The cumulative text by author Madeleine Dunphy is engaging and makes for an interesting and fun reading experience - young children will enjoy this as a read aloud activity whilst intermediate readers will find this an interesting yet not overly challenging read. My five-and-a-half-year old enjoyed reading this and we made a game of trying to identify the different sea creatures portrayed within (she loved that her favorite, the clownfish, were prominently portrayed in here!).

The vivid, full-color illustrations by illustrator Tom Leonard enhance the text and make this an engaging book. The "Here Is" series by Madeleine Dunphy is educational, fun, and engaging for young children and will enhance any public/school/home library as an educational resource. The glossary at the end of the book also provides useful information.

Purchased this to replace the one we lost from the public library. Kids liked it and it helped them learn the reef life. Mom went a little crazy with all the repetition.

I really enjoy Madeleine Dunphy's "Here is the Coral Reef," as I do all of her other "Here is..." books (rainforest, arctic winter, southwestern desert, and wetlands). "Here is the Coral Reef" provides parents a fun, colorful medium for teaching children about the coral reef ecosystem. The cumulative verse format is an elegant way to teach about the interconnections between all life. The illustrations are gloriously bright, with just enough action to keep the kids going, but nothing gory. The story grows incrementally with each page, tracing the unseen threads of biological systems, and culminating in a montage of its reef-dwelling characters. Kids seem to like the repetition...but any parent knows how much children enjoy repeating their favorite stories, songs or videos over and over and over! I would highly recommend this subtle yet effective book for parents and educators (*****).