Life in the Oceans

Title: Life in the Oceans
Author: Lucy Baker
Informational Nonfiction

     This is a great resource book for students to use on their first few research projects.  It is very well organized as a credible resource text, but still incredible kid-friendly.  I like that it has a table of contents in the beginning, so that students can start to become comfortable with this type of organization and know exactly where to look for specific information.  There are a lot of beautiful photographs in the book that draw the reader in and really connect to the text.  The font and size of the words are big enough so they are easy to follow for growing readers.  The text does not overwhelm the page, but still includes a lot of important information and facts.  Some pages have a helpful "Did You Know?" section with extra bulleted facts.  As an educator, I like how important vocabulary words are bold-faced in the text, and that also means that they can be found in the back of the book in the glossary with a definition.  This is very helpful for students to get to know to this feature.  Along with the photographs, are many drawings of diagrams or extra pictures that are interesting.  This book is very well organized into sections talking about the ocean and ocean water in general, then the different life that can be found in oceans, to how humans use and manipulate oceans.  My favorite part of this book is the story legend told in the book, Dakuwaca Fights for His Life.  I really like how it first explains the idea of a legend, how it is not true and just a story.  The story is about sharks that surround the island of Fiji in the Pacific Ocean.  This story is very interesting and the drawings that go along with it are beautiful.  Finally, there is a quick thirteen question "True or False?" quiz in the back with the answers provided, that goes over the information provided in the book.  Overall, I would highly recommend this book to young students just learning how to research interesting topics.