Secret Oceans, The [Hardcover]

Betty Ballantine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1994

Betty Ballantine, renowned for her contributions  to publishing for more than four decades, takes  readers on a visual odyssey through the vast and  deep oceans of the world, with the help of 12 leading  artists and a story that will entertain as well as  gently inform. Meet the crew of the Turtle, an  exploratory submarine whose mission is to establish  communication with whales. Almost immediately, they  encounter the cetasapiens, a remarkable thinking,  mammalian species who have an equally important  objective: to establish communication with humans,  and to teach them about the fragility of the ocean  ecosystem they are thoughtlessly destroying. The  cetasapiens have until this time kept their  existence secret from humankind, who have only explored  one and a half percent of the undersea world. But  secrecy is no longer a protection against human  destructiveness --and the cetasapiens intend to do  something about it. The dramatic art creates the  tale, with gorgeous full-color paintings of  burgeoning kelp forests, vibrant coral reefs, and  mysterious arctic waters The cetasapiens serve as the  submarine crew's guides. Just as Dinotopia illuminated  a fantastic world where humans and dinosaurs  co-exist, The Secret Oceans brings  alive a world that exists only beneath the ocean  surface -- and in the imagination.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8?This info-novel is a modern-day, ecology-oriented 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for kids. It is 2000, and a deep-sea highest-tech submersible with over-the-edge computers and a mechanical translator capable of coping with nonhuman speech is about to descend. It's crewed by a Russian female captain who is multilingual and who holds multiple degrees and a male Scots/Japanese chief engineer with ditto multis, and includes a scientific team headed by an outspoken male scientist/doctor/author/professor and his two, teenaged, adopted, genius children. They're accompanied by an American male observer/reporter/photographer/medic. This expeditionary unit soon encounters the Cetasapiens: extra-intelligent, culturally and technologically advanced super-dolphins who immediately take the humans under their dexterous split flippers. Together they explore a good portion of the Pacific Ocean and provide readers with a lot of oceanic knowledge (a la Verne). The result is an adventurous cruise woven with pleas from undersea creatures to preserve the planet's life-giving oceans, ending with a hopeful hasta la vista rather than a terminating adios. The bibliography is extensive. Information is included about the 12 artists who cooperated on the illustrative portions of the book. Oversized, colorful, highly visual in content, and imagination stirring.?Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Working in the tradition of James Gurney's Dinotopia, Ballantine heads beneath the waves with the crew of the Turtle, who discover an intelligent mammalian species called cetasapiens that teach them how fragile the oceans are.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553096605
• ISBN-13: 978-0553096606
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,744,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A UNIQUE CELEBRATION OF LIFE, May 9, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret Oceans (Hardcover)

The mysteries of the deep have fascinated landlubbers and oceanographers for ages. Now, Betty Ballantine has blended fantasy and solid scientific principles to create a stunner of a book.

Taken in tow by an intelligent deep sea species of talking dolphins, the "cetasapiens," six ship's crew members embark on an unparalleled voyage through the world's oceans. Exploration begins in the South Pacific. Then, guided by their friendly denizens of the deep, they veer towards the Arctic, and eventually investigate the Amazon Delta, which is flooded six months of every year and holds a startling array of wildlife.

Their journeys are illustrated by brilliant full-page full-color paintings by 12 different artists. Additional visuals are wonderful paintings of sea creatures.

The excitement of the story is not at all diminished but enhanced by the author's themes of environmentalism, mutual dependency and multi-culturalism. The Secret Oceans is an imaginative adventure for all. Those interested in our physical world will be especially enthralled by this unique celebration of life.

- Gail Cooke

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully illustrated, November 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Secret Oceans, The (Hardcover)

well done and written by a legend of the publishing worl

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing tale of friendship and discovery!, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Secret Oceans, The (Hardcover)

I loved this book! The C.T.'s (dolphins with three fingered fins and a crest on their heads) are really cool with communicating with the humans. The book is very interesting and it tells about a lot of different places in the ocean and parts that are dangerous and parts that are not dangerous. Also, it tells about a lot of animals in the ocean. When Betty Balentine talks about the ocean, she makes it sound like it's a magical world. Also, she makes it sound like you're ging into outer space! On a scale of 1-10, this book is an eleven!!!