A Swim through the Sea ANNOTATION
Uses the letters of the alphabet to introduce angelfish, dolphins, manatees, octopus, and other fish and mammals living in the world's oceans, giving their physical charactistics and behavior.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In this illustrated tour of the plants and animals of the undersea kingdom, Kristin Pratt once again introduces children to one of our planet's most precious and fragile realms. Each page highlights a selected species with a full-color illustration and a paragraph of fascinating facts. The alliterative storyline and alphabet book format provide parents and teachers with an engaging way of sharing this special ecosystem with their children.Lauded as a young ``Eco Star" by the Cousteau Society, and inducted into the Kid Heroes Hall of Fame by E: The Environmental Magazine, Kristin Joy Pratt demonstrates not only an infectious love of nature that promotes environmental awareness among children, but also a ``can do" positive attitude toward life that has helped make her so popular. Kristin's best-selling first book, A Walk in the Rainforest, written in 1991 at age 14, began as an English homework assignment. More than 100,000 copies have been sold. At age 16, inspired by a marine biology class and her concern about contamination of the world's oceans, Kristin wrote and illustrated A Swim through the Sea. It was selected as an outstanding book by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council, and already almost 90,000 copies of this book have been sold. In 1995, at age 18, Kristin turned the spotlight on the fragile ``invisible ocean" of air around us, and wrote and illustrated A Fly in the Sky. By now Kristin had become something of a children's heroine as a popular speaker at schools, museums and aquariums all over the U.S., and an inspiration for what even a young person can do given talent and the right attitude. Kristin was a complete unknown when she sent her first manuscript to Dawn Publications. But what she said caught the publisher's eye. ``Environmental awareness, at a very early age, is the key to preserving our world," she wrote. ``When young children gain a knowledge and respect for nature they in turn love and protect it. If this book takes one small step towards that end it will have served its purpose."
FROM THE CRITICS
Jacques Cousteau
. . . an inspiration for all young environmentalists.
NAPRA Trade Journal
At age 17, Kristin Joy Pratt is gaining international recognition with her work in educating children about our environment. . . beautiful watercolor illustrations dome by this very talented young author.
Children's Literature - Debra Briatico
This colorful alphabet book invites readers to join Seamore, the seahorse, as he explores the fascinating plants and animals of the undersea world. During his journey, Seamore comes face-to-face with a puffed-up porcupine fish, a happily-housed hermit crab, jet-propelled jellyfish, a gargantuan grouper, and many other ocean creatures. Bright watercolor illustrations, intriguing facts, and lyrical prose fill the pages of fun alphabetical underwater adventure.
Children's Literature - Beverly Kobrin
From angel-to zebrafish by way of xiphosuran (no X marks the spot here!), this stunning menagerie of marine life is beautiful to look at and full of facts. Point out to aspiring author/artists that the hardworking Ms. Pratt wrote this, her second book (first was her alphabetical Walk In The Rainforest), while in high school. Have youngsters use the book above to create their own alphabet on a family member, subject of a biography they've just read, someone in the news, a classmate, neighbor, pet, or any other person, place or thing of special interest.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-An alphabetical introduction to various forms of ocean life, as seen through the eyes of Seamore the seahorse. The intended audience is unclear, as the tone of Seamore's encounters, narrated in a large type, indicate a preschool audience, while the descriptive paragraph for each entry uses vocabulary too complicated for the typical alphabet-book crowd. For each letter, a creature is spotlighted and framed by a colorful border featuring other organisms whose names begin with the same letter. Especially lively is the one for ``D''-active dolphins leap and swim above and within a multi-shaded ocean across two pages, reminiscent of a Grecian frieze. The ``phosphorescent flashlight fish'' combines a clever usage of the ``ph'' and ``f'' sound, and shows the purple fish glowing green and yellow against a dark background of deep ocean. The double-page view of ``rippling rays round a reef'' has them radiating out from the center of the spread in a dramatic point of view. All of the flowing, fluid pictures are full of action and detail. Some of the same animals are included in Anne Doubilet's Under the Sea from A to Z (Crown, 1991), but without that title's brief, clear entries.-Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA
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