This is the Ocean [Hardcover]

Kersten Hamilton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-A rhyming text and colorful, crisp illustrations introduce the water cycle. The large eyes and smiles on most creatures lend a cheerful demeanor to the bright pictures. Purple goats drink from rocky pools, orange beavers swim in the river, and pink and purple dolphins grace their "watery world." A cut-paper collage and watercolor-gouache painting technique is used. The narrative takes readers from the ocean to the clouds, mountains, brooks, streams, rivers, and back to the ocean. It is fun and easy to read: "This is the ocean,/Always filled up/from shore to shore/like a briny cup" or "These are the mountains/that scrape the sky/and catch the cloud-ships/sailing by." This book could be used in conjunction with Arthur Dorros's Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean (HarperCollins, 1991).

Diane Olivo-Posner, Long Beach Public Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-7. The life cycle of water is beautifully presented in this rhyming book for young audiences. Beginning with the ocean, which is "always filled up from shore to shore like a briny cup," and moving through to the rivers that eventually empty back into it, water's journey is celebrated with colorful illustrations of the many plants and creatures that benefit along the way. The sun "shines hot and dry, and raises a mist from the sea to the sky." Next "clouds like galleons with holds full of rain / set sail on the wind over the plain." Moving over the mountains and onto the grassland, they pour rain down "on the thirsty land, [cutting] a path through the rocks and sand." A feast for the eyes, Siomades gorgeous, three-dimensional textured-paper collages enhance the easy poetic handling of the subject. A great crowd pleaser for read-alouds, this will open up discussion not only about the water cycle but also about the techniques used in creating the book's unusual art. Helen Rosenberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563978903
• ISBN-13: 978-1563978906
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,341,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ocean of Information for the Very Young, May 9, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: This is the Ocean (Hardcover)

Have you ever tried to explain the water cycle to little ones who ask where does the rain comes from? Kersten Hamilton has taken this sometimes confusing subject and made it easy for youngsters to understand, taking them through the process step by step. Her rhyming text, full of imagery and expressive detail, begins with the ocean and the bright sun that raises a mist to the sky and continues on to clouds and rain, explaining each step until the water from rivers and streams slips back into the ocean to begin the cycle all over again. Lorianne Siomades bold, colorful illustrations are charming and add just the right touch. Perfect for children 3-7, This is the Ocean is a fascinating and engaging picture book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Water Cycle explained for the young., February 21, 2001

By 

Raymona A. Holten (Edgewood, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This is the Ocean (Hardcover)

This is the Ocean is a readable fun journey through the water cycle. It is an excellant resource for anyone teaching the young about how water moves from the ocean to the clouds to the rivers and back to the ocean. It is written in lyric poetry, almost a song of water. The illustrations are simple, bright and engaging. I would recommend this book not only to school teachers but to all the other important teachers in a child's life.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Educational Kid's Book, February 11, 2004

By 

Matthew H. Wilson "heronboy" (Berea, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This is the Ocean (Hardcover)

A wonderful book for teaching kids the water cycle. It reads like a story and has great illustrations. Highly recommended.