Life in a Coral Reef (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) [Paperback]

Wendy Pfeffer (Author), Steve Jenkins (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2

Ages: 5 - 9

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1–3—The span of activities occurring in a reef is seamlessly presented in a "day in the life of" picture-book format. Each easy-to-read sentence is packed with information. Like the text, the paper-cutout illustrations combine simplicity and sophistication. Utterly gorgeous, they amplify the material presented on every page. Vibrant reds, purples, golds, and black and white pop off the page. A lime green moray eel glides across a spread as it stalks fish in the dark by smell. Why does it ignore a sleeping parrot fish?, the narrative asks. Readers see a muted blue fish on the page next to the eel and learn that it oozes out a filmy body covering that disguises its color and masks its odor while it sleeps. The book concludes with two pages of facts about coral reefs, a list of famous reefs, and the current and future threats to these endangered habitats. The endpapers silhouetting the reef animals in shades of blue and black are inviting and haunting at the same time. Outstanding.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA END --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Wendy Pfeffer is the author of several titles in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, including Sounds All Around and Wiggling Worms at Work. She lives in Pennington, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Collins; 1 edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064452220
• ISBN-13: 978-0064452229
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 9.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Water

More About the Author

Wendy Pfeffer has written several other books for children,including From Tadpole to Frog and What's It Like to Be a Fish? both illustrated by Holly Keller. Ms. Pfeffer lives in Pennington, NJ. Holly Keller has illustrated Let's Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans and You're Aboard Spaceship Earth by Patricia Lauber, as well as her own books starring Horace and Geraldine. Ms. Keller lives in West Redding, CT.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The combination of the informative text and Steve Jenkin's delightful collage make this book on the coral reef a real gem!, December 18, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in a Coral Reef (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Hardcover)

The puffy clouds sit in a clear blue sky above the ocean waters. Beneath the surface of the ocean a beautiful coral reef "built of limestone from tiny sea animals" is teeming with life and awash with vibrant colors. Fish can be seen swimming among the reef, but there is more to it than meets the eye in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. This coral reef, the largest in the world, weaves its way along the eastern coast of Australia for "more than 1,200 miles." Amazingly the coral reefs of the world are made up by coral polyps, small sea animals, that are about the "size of a grain of rice."

The polyps attach themselves to already existing coral and their layers form the reefs. Other creatures of the sea contribute to the coral reefs as well. For example, the sea cucumber will "spit out the sand" it cannot eat, thereby keeping the reef structurally sound when this sand "fills the cracks and crevices in the reef." In this book you will learn about hard coral polyps, soft coral polyps, and other creatures that populate the reefs. Those creatures include the goby, the spotted eel, the colorful clown fish, the ruffle-headed scorpion, the puffer fish, the crab, the four-eye butterfly fish, and several other fascinating denizens of the deep. Did you know that the parrot fish covers its body in a substance like "plastic wrap" so its predators can't smell it?

The combination of the informative text and Steve Jenkin's delightful collage make this particular book on the coral reef a real gem. The light and airy style of writing made this informative description of the text easy for the younger reader to understand. The full color pages with the vibrant sea creatures meshed very well with this charming undersea trip along the coral reef. For the younger reader this type of introduction to the world of nonfiction makes it fun, easy and enjoyable. In the back of the book there are some "Fun Facts" about coral reefs, a brief note about the disappearing reefs, and a list of the famous reefs from Florida to Australia.