By the Sea

OCTOPUS ALONE by Divya Srinivasan. Viking, 2013.

Octopus hides so that he is not bothered by the sea horses. Thankfully, he can blend in with his surroundings or squirt black ink to escape. At the end of the day, though, he decides he enjoys the merriment of the sea horses and returns home.

A SINGLE PEARL by Donna Jo Napoli with illustrations by Jim LaMarche. Disney Hyperion, 2013.

A tiny grain of sand is confused when it is sucked into an oyster. Slowly, the grain is coated with layer after layer. One day, a diver pries the pearl from its shell making it feel vulnerable. But when the pearl is given to a young girl, the pearl feels her warmth and love and knows it is, at last, home.

science in action

FAR FROM SHORE: CHRONICLES OF AN OPEN OCEAN VOYAGE by Sophie Webb (Houghton Mifflin 2011) takes readers along on a long term voyage of scientists to study birds, mammals, and other life in and around the open ocean. Webb, author of the Sibert winning MY SEASON WITH PENGUINS, uses watercolor illustrations and sketches and diagrams to illuminate the findings of the scientists who are searching for answers to some questions such as: now that purse seine catching is illegal, are the numbers of dolphins on the increase? The four month journey provides more questions than answers in some cases, though, as Webb and her colleagues study the myriad of lifeforms that make up the ecosystem of the open ocean. <27>