Tag Archives: Ocean Animals

Elem. – The Wild Robot Protects

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Brown, Peter. The Wild Robot Protects. Little Brown and Company, 2023. 978-0-316-66941-2. 277 p. $17.99. Grades 3-5.

The Wild Robot Protects takes the reader back to the island with Roz and her family. Everything is going well when a seal comes to the island and warns the creatures of a “poison tide” that is headed towards the island. Many of the animals leave the island, some such as Roz’s son Brightbill decide to stay as this island is their home. Roz decides that she is going to figure out where the “poison tide” is coming from and she will stop it as well. She learns that she  needs to find an ancient shark and ask them for help, so off she goes. The reader follows Roz as she goes off on this adventure, and they will wait with anticipation to find out whether Roz was able to save the island and stop the “poison tide”.

THOUGHTS: The Wild Robot series is so fun, whether being used for a read aloud with a group of students, or just read by one student for pleasure. This addition is as wonderful as the rest of them! This would be a great book to use with a climate change unit, or just as a read aloud (as long as the class is familiar with the other Wild Robot books). Highly recommended for any elementary school collection.

Science Fiction

Elem. -A Super Scary Narwhalloween

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Clanton, Ben. A Super Scary Narwhalloween. Tundra, 2023. 978-0-735-26674-2. unpaged. $12.99. Grades K-3.

Narwhal and Jelly are off on a new adventure–this time for Halloween! Narwhal is excited for Halloween, but Jelly isn’t so sure. He likes dressing up and the treats… but isn’t excited about the scary stuff. When Narwhal dashes off to create his costume, Jelly is left alone and uncertain without his best buddy around.  His uncertainty turns to fear as sea animals dash by telling of a huge, spiked, fanged, HUNGRY sea monster. Challenging Narwhal, Jelly Superifies his pod of friends, who follow his lead in the inevitable a monster encounter. Not surprisingly, the monster is no monster at all–just Narwhal caught in his costumes!

THOUGHTS: Narwhal, plus Halloween. This book is destined to fly off the shelves, just as the other Narwhal and Jelly adventures tend to do, even when Halloween isn’t around the corner. As with the other Narwhal stories, in addition to this one, the book includes fun facts about bats and scary ocean creatures as well as a bonus waffle comic. Ben Clanton continues to offer growing readers a lot in his Narwhal series.

Graphic Novel 

Elem. – Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem

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Stewart, Melissa. Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem. Random House, Illustrated by Rob Dunleavey. 2023. 978-0-593-38060-4. unpaged. $18.99. Grades 2 and up.

Have you ever wondered what happens to sea animals when they die? Read this book to find out. When a whale dies, a new beginning for many sea animals is just beginning. This book details the animals that feast off a whale: zombie worms, squat lobsters, and sea cucumbers just to name a few.  This process can take up to 50 years! The end of the book includes more details about the species who feast on the whale as well as sources and further exploration books, photos, and videos.

THOUGHTS: I love a good nonfiction picture book! There is so much information to be shared with students.

577.7 Marine Ecology
Picture Book