Coral Reefs (First Reports) ANNOTATION
Describes the physical features of a coral reef, its community of plants and animals, and environmental threats.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature
This entry in the "First Reports" series describes the physical features of a coral reef, its interrelated community of plants and animals, and threats to its environment. Information briefly states where coral reefs are found (unfortunately there is no map) and how animals construct them. Pictures show coral polyps forming, eating zooplankton or forming food from algae living inside themselves. Bold type, specialized vocabulary is defined in context and repeated in a glossary, which helps readers locate information quickly. Informative photographs vary from close-ups of marine life (all accurately captioned) to overviews of atolls and reefs and several pictures of divers. A short section about crown-of-thorns starfish that can destroy a section of coral reef the size of a dollar bill daily is followed by one about human endangerment of the reefs, echoing earlier discussions of how reefs function. This useful and clearly written text provides a good introduction to the subject for young readers and is supported with a short "Did You Know?" section, "Facts at a Glance," book and web site references, an index and "Places to Write to for More Information." 2001, Compass Point Books, $21.26. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4-These books provide a satisfactory but cursory overview of the assigned topics. Each one summarizes the physical features of the ecosystem, describes the plants and animals that live there, and mentions the human interactions that pose threats to the environment. Neither writing nor illustration is compelling enough to interest readers other than those writing reports. Rain Forest is unusual in its mention of temperate as well as tropical rain forests. However, that inclusion stretches coverage of every subtopic even thinner. Libraries with books such as Caleb Owens's Coral Reefs (Child's World, 1998) or Jonathan Grupper's Destination: Rainforest (National Geographic, 1997) and other basic titles can pass on these entries in crowded fields.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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