NNFN2024: The Jellyfish Garden

For day 2 of NNFN2024, I am reviewing ‘The Jellyfish Garden’, a fascinating book which takes a look at the watery world of the incredible creatures- and taught me how little I knew about them!

Having started by describing the features of these strange creatures, the differences and similarities between species are then highlighted. Carefully labelled diagrams show various views, including cross sections to support the reader’s understanding of their structure. Each carefully presented spread is packed with information, offered in accessible sections.

The enthusiasm of the author for their subject shines through the text, answering all the questions you might think of about these creatures- and a few more! Whether a reader with a deep interest in the oceans and the creatures which live there or someone who wants to find out more about jellyfish, everyone who picks up this book will be rewarded with the wealth of information and detail it offers.

The Jellyfish Garden: Explore their Curious World

Paola Vitale and Rossana Bossu

Post Wave ISBN: 978-1836270003

Beasts from the Deep

Beautifully presented, ‘Beasts from the Deep’ offers a fascinating and absorbing look at the mysterious creatures which inhabit the depths of the ocean.

The introduction carefully explains that there is much that is unknown about the deep sea, ‘a vast environment that despite near-freezing temperatures, crushing water pressure and total darkness’ is home to many creatures which have adapted to live there. From here, the author goes on to explain the ocean’s layers from the sunlight zone through the Twilight, Midnight and Abyssal Zones down to the Hadal Zone. The illustration here is quite something with the sparsely populated, inky-black Hadal Zone still managing to hint at the mysteries it might hold!

Starting with the Twilight Zone, the book then explores each layer in more detail, looking at some of the creatures which live there and how they have adapted to survive in their environment, making it a fascinating text to support the Y6 work on evolution and inheritance in science. The fangtooth, for example, which inhabits the Midnight Zone, has evolved to have a large mouth lined with really long teeth whilst Atolla jellyfish are perfectly adapted to live at this level.

On each page, the text is presented in small chunks, offering plenty of information, using subject specific vocabulary (a comprehensive glossary is included at the end of the book), encouraging the reader to develop their understanding of this fascinating environment and the ‘beasts’ which live there. I learned so much from reading this!

Beasts from the Deep

Matt Ralphs, illustrated by Kaley McKean

Nosy Crow with the University of Cambridge ISBN: 978-1839943348

Published 6th June

Originally reviewed for Reading Zone.

I Turtley Love You/Don’t Ever Smile at a Shark

Today, I’m reviewing two delightful books from Little Tiger which take little readers under the sea, both written by Harriet Evans, but illustrated by Bryony Clarkson (Turtle) and Michael Slack (Shark).

‘I Turtley Love You’ is a beautifully produced board book. Sturdy board pages and colourful illustrations are enhanced by both cut outs and raised sections, offering plenty of tactile interest for little fingers to enjoy. The gentle rhyming text focuses on the love between adult and child as different sea creatures are introduced.

As well as emphasising a feeling of love and being special, the illustrations and text could lead to conversations about these sea creatures and finding out more about them. Little ones who have seen ‘Finding Nemo’, for example, may make the connection between Marlin and Nemo and the clownfish in the story. The interactive element of the cut outs allows them to play peek-a-boo with the young clown fish by flipping the page back and forth. There are also plenty of details to spot, like the heart shapes made by the crabs claws. It is a delightful little book with much to recommend it!

I Turtley Love You: A sea-riously cute Book of love!

Harriet Evans, illustrated by Bryony Clarkson

Little Tiger ISBN: 9781838915681

Also under the sea, ‘Don’t Ever Smile at a Shark’ is a wonderfully interactive read! Clever paper engineering means the pop-ups move in different ways as an array of sea creatures leap off the page.

The rhyming text is fun to read aloud with plenty of opportunities for little ones to join in with the story, making noises and perhaps actions to suit. As with the previous story, this one might lead to further investigation about the creatures pictured here. Children are sure to enjoy manipulating the book to make the pages move - and older children (and some adults!) are sure to want to investigate how the movement is created. Sure to become a firm favourite!

Don’t Ever Smile at a Shark

Harriet Evans, illustrated by Michael Slack

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1838915292

NNFN2023: Who’s Afraid of the Light?

With a glow-in-the-dark cover and its intriguing title, ‘Who’s Afraid of the Light?’ is narrative non-fiction at its best. From the end papers, the reader is pulled into the story by seagulls explaining the story takes place ‘down there’ and this thread is continued by other creatures as the background gets darker until we arrive at the ‘deepest, darkest depths of the ocean’ and a multi-coloured speech bubble introduces Fergus, although there is no sign of him!

Gradually, a picture builds as Fergus answers questions and seeks to avoid various other creatures of the midnight zone as they appear. We learn how well adapted each of these creatures is to their dark habitat and gain clues to form a picture of Fergus until a camera flash reveals the truth, showing Fergus is not what was imagined!

Using humour, a chatty written style and clever illustrations all combine to make this a very appealing and accessible book, sure to be a huge favourite with younger children. Additional information is included in a ‘Do You Know?’ spread at the end of the book, allowing readers to discover more about life in the Midnight Zone with a depth gauge down the side showing the different layers of the ocean. There is so much to learn and enjoy in this book!

Who’s Afraid of the Light? Anna McGregor

Scribble ISBN: 978-1914484353