Synopses & Reviews
"Big as a bus and smaller than seeds, billions of babies are born in the ocean...." This opening line and later refrain entices readers into a magical, real-life world. Through lyrical, read aloud text and light-hearted and beautiful illustration, Ocean Babies presents the animal babies of the ocean. The giant blue whale contrasts with tiny coral polyps, sea horses pop from their fathers' pouches, and bat rays spread wing fins to fly through the ocean for the first time. Did you know that sea otter pups are helpless at birth and need to learn to swim from their parents? Did you know that orca babies look exactly like their parents, while baby emperor angelfish change colors completely in adulthood? Children see an array of charmingly illustrated ocean babies with their parents and also get a gentle introduction to animal life strategies and patterns, such as migration and predation. Fascinating back matter notes on the art and text add another layer of information to the lilting main text with details on habitat, behavior, and animal strategies and life cycles.
Synopsis
Every day, new babies are born to the ocean. a tiny sea otter baby cradels in its mother's hug and rocks to sleep in the kelp forest. A baby bat ray spreads its fins like wings and saild through the water for the first time. A baby hermit crab outgrows its shell and moves into the next of many new homes.
From giant blue whale cavlves to tiny coral eggs, billions of babies fill th eocean. Some live alone, and some live in groups. Some are born knowing how to swim, and some need to learn. Some travel far, and some stay in one place. No matter how different these ocean babies might be, they are all part of the great cycle of life supported by our world's ocean.
Like the lull of waves at the beach, Deborah Lee Rose's lyrical text floats from page to page. Hiroe Nakata's whimsical illustrations joyfully capture colorful new ocean life. Detailed end notes provide fascinating additional information on the lives of each ocean baby, whether cuddly or prickly, small or large.
About the Author
Deborah Rose is the author of several award-winning and best-selling books for children. She is a contributor to a few instructional books, and her bio has been featured in
Something About the Author. Deborah Rose is a former National Science Writing Fellow and has worked as a researcher and writer in the field of science for 20 years. She lives in Walnut Creek, California.
Hiroe Nakata is the illustrator of a number of books for children. At the age of 16, she moved to the United States from Japan. She is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design and lives in New York City.