Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef [Paperback]

Marianne Berkes (Author), Jeanette Canyon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004 | Age Range: 3 and up | Lexile Measure: 600L (What's this?)

Teachers and parents, take note: this book is already a classic. Two geniuses--author and illustrator--came into perfect alignment to create this book. The author has kids thinking it is entertainment while adults think it is a great lesson about the ocean. The genius of the illustrator is obvious. With painstaking detail each illustration is created entirely of polymer clay, then photographed, creating a 3-D impression of tremendous vitality. Kids will sing, clap, and count their way among pufferfishthat puff, gruntfishthat grunt and seahorses that flutter, and begin to appreciate life in the ocean.And the art will inspire many a project. Plus there are several pages of extension ideas for curriculum and art projects as well as resources on the web and elsewhere.


Please note: The board book edition is 28 pages. It includes suggestions for children to do body movements as the text is read. It does not include additional information about the animals, rainforests, and the score of the song as is in the hardback and paperback editions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Eye-popping artwork is the star of the show in Berkes's lively, oceanic counting book... --Kirkus Reviews, Sept 1, 2004

Berkes adapts the classic song "Over in the Meadow" to bring both a counting element and a musical element to the coral reef habitat. She has produced a book guaranteed to engage children while it educates them about marine life. The coral reef is teeming with pufferfish that "puff," gruntfish that "grunt" and seahorses that "flutter." The babies follow the behavior of their mothers - except in a true-to-life twist at the end. Includes plenty of age-appropriate background information about each of the animals. The book s illustrations are composed of photographs of reliefs shaped and sculpted from polymer clay - a wonderful, friendly, pliable and colorful medium. --Arizona Networking News

Marianne Berkes puts a delightful marine spin on the old meadow counting rhyme in Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef. Moving through the book from 1 to 10, youngsters learn about sea-dwelling creatures as each mother instructs her babies to squirt (octopus), puff (pufferfish) and skitter (needlefish). the rhyme takes an amusing turn at the end when father seahorse flutters in as the educating parent - demonstrating, of course, that love for offspring need not be gender specific. Jeanette Canyon s polymer artwork is unique and stunning. A "tips from the artist" section gives insight into her process and offers suggestions for creating clay art with kids. With additional sections on fingerplay games and the coral reef community, this book is a wonderful Valentine gift for educators, parents and children alike. --Mary Quattlebaum, Washington Parent

Berkes adapts the classic song "Over in the Meadow" to bring both a counting element and a musical element to the coral reef habitat. She has produced a book guaranteed to engage children while it educates them about marine life. The coral reef is teeming with pufferfish that "puff," gruntfish that "grunt" and seahorses that "flutter." The babies follow the behavior of their mothers - except in a true-to-life twist at the end. Includes plenty of age-appropriate background information about each of the animals. The book s illustrations are composed of photographs of reliefs shaped and sculpted from polymer clay - a wonderful, friendly, pliable and colorful medium. --Arizona Networking News

Marianne Berkes puts a delightful marine spin on the old meadow counting rhyme in Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef. Moving through the book from 1 to 10, youngsters learn about sea-dwelling creatures as each mother instructs her babies to squirt (octopus), puff (pufferfish) and skitter (needlefish). the rhyme takes an amusing turn at the end when father seahorse flutters in as the educating parent - demonstrating, of course, that love for offspring need not be gender specific. Jeanette Canyon s polymer artwork is unique and stunning. A "tips from the artist" section gives insight into her process and offers suggestions for creating clay art with kids. With additional sections on fingerplay games and the coral reef community, this book is a wonderful Valentine gift for educators, parents and children alike. --Mary Quattlebaum, Washington Parent

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 36 pages
• Publisher: Dawn Pubns (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584690623
• ISBN-13: 978-1584690627
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Marine Life

More About the Author

Marianne Berkes has spent much of her life as a teacher, children's theater director and children's librarian. She is listed in "Something About the Author," "Who's Who in American Education" and "Who's Who in America."

Marianne lives in Hobe Sound, Florida, where the cacophony of sounds she hears from the pond in back of her home served as the inspiration for her first book, "Marsh Music" published in 2000. She is a favorite presenter at schools and literary conferences, reading her award-winning books and talking about her publishing adventures.

Before moving to Florida over twenty years ago, Marianne was an early childhood educator in New York, and also directed children's theater. Music, theater and writing have been a constant in her life and she puts all this to good use in her eleven (and counting)"interactive" children's picture books.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a sea-creature-theme rhyme that my kids love to hear and read July 26, 2005

By karensk121

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

---A book that would serve as an enriching literature unit as well as a wonderful gift---

This book consists of 11 verses of engaging rhyme in the same form as "Over in the Meadow", using fish and other sea animals instead of meadow animals. A new sea creature is introduced on every 2-page spread in quantities from 1 to 10.

For example, for the number "2":

Over in the ocean Where the sea grasses grew Lived a mother parrotfish And her parrotfish two. "Grind," said the mother. "We grind," said the two. So they ground on the coral Where the sea grasses grew."

And so it goes for each number, 1 through 10, with every verse starting with, "Over in the ocean...." The eleventh verse is a wrap-up where the reader has to find all 55 young animals in the 2-page spread (1 octopus, 2 parrotfish, 3 clownfish and so on), similar to the I Spy books.

Some of the supplemental features after the rhyme:
* the rhyme printed with the music, sung to the tune of "Over in the Meadow"
* information about each of the coral reef animals in the book
* hand motions that may be used for each of the verses (e.g., for the needlefish "skitter": put arms way out straight, then separate arms and wiggle fingers in a skittering motion)
* description of the artwork by the artist

The artwork is excellent -- aesthetically pleasing and very creative! The artist used polymer clay with various tools to shape all the scenery and animals onto a board. Then, "to create the two-dimensional illustrations for a book, the reliefs are photographed (with careful attention to lighting)." I, as well as my children, enjoy looking at the artwork, trying to guess how it was done. This is the artist's first book; I certainly hope she does more!

This book can be used as a launching-off point to teach 2- to 7-year-olds in more than one subject:
* The younger ones (ages 2-4) can learn their numbers and counting.
* The older ones can use this for memory work. A large class of 5- to 7-year-olds could team up in pairs; each pair could memorize a verse of the rhyme.
* It could be used to introduce a unit on :
sea creatures,
coral reefs, or
ocean life.
* It could be used to introduce an art unit on clay.
* It could be used a the spine of a literature unit with all of the above as additional activities.

This could be part of a gift set to a young child, accompanied by some toy sea animals and/or a book about ocean life (or coral reefs or sea animals). The 10 kinds of animals appearing in the rhyme are: octopus, parrotfish, clownfish, stingrays, pufferfish, dolphins, angelfish, needlefish, gruntfish, seahorses.

My 5-year-old reads our library copy over and over. I look forward to having our own copy of this book, which will be a keeper in our home.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great illustrations, smart copy August 25, 2005

By C. Loeung

Format:Hardcover

My daughters and I enjoy everything about this book from the amazing clay-created illustrations to the singable, educational copy. After borrowing it from the library a number of times (our tried-and-true test for finding good books) we decided to purchase it. It is a perfect book for preschool kids as it reinforces number recognition, introduces unusual ocean life through playful rhymes, and, very importantly, tells them again that playing with clay or playdough is a fabulous creative activity!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome book, on many levels May 6, 2007

By S. Hall

Format:Board book

the artistry of this book is unsurpassed. the rhyming is cute and fun to recite. the counting aspect is educational and fun. love this book... and so do my 4 and 2 year olds.