This nonfiction book by Donna Latham in the Endangered Biomes series reminds me, in a good way, of the movie FINDING NEMO. The colorful action shots of clown fish, tropical fish, coral reefs, sea turtles, kelp beds, shark, and pelican mixed with the ocean currents,  topography, and how ocean plants and animals adapt bring the reader to a deeper understanding of the ocean biome in just 8 short chapters in 27 pages. Environmental threats to the ocean: climate change, oil spills, and trash, are also discussed. The glossary is well done and matches the glossary word-for-word in Latham’s other book from this series – DESERTS.

One typo on page 13, the word ‘each’ should be ‘eat’.

Author Donna Latham presents a short 8 chapter, 27 page run down on deserts – “the most arid biome”. The page lay-outs help the reader move from the generalities of the  text to specifics of captioned inset photos and “Do You Know?” factoids. The vibrant colors in the photos with the accompanying text grab the readers attention and will inspire him to read the entire book in one sitting. Includes: plant and animal adaptations, environmental threats and biodiversity risks.

The proofreader missing one word – on page 21, damanged, should be damaged.

Excellent glossary

I f you have ever been in a play one of the worst things you can do is to forget your lines. When Herbie Bear’s class puts on a Thanksgiving play, he fears this will happen to him and is teased about it by another classmate. In the end, Herbie performs on cue and rescues ‘the’ classmate who does forget his line.

Big emotion-filled action -packed illustrations by Bob Ostrom make this a fun read.

As Herbie Bear’s birthday approaches he realizes he has outgrown the skateboard his father made for him. At his party , each present is a new piece of skateboarding equipment. After the cake and ice cream , the grand finale is the new skateboard Herbie has secretly been wanting. “Thanks, Dad! Thanks, Mom! This is the best birthday ever.”

Big, emotion-filled action packed illustrations by Bob Ostrom make this a visual treat to read.

Thirteen-year-old Jackson Jones becomes a young entrepreneur when his widowed neighbor, Mrs. Nelson, convinces him to get her neglected apple orchard up and going again.  If he does so, she promises the deed to the orchard to young Jackson.  Seeing dollar signs, Jackson accepts the challenge, getting a lesson in the hard work it takes to grow and sell apples.  He enlists his siblings and cousins in the hard work, keeping from them the fact that Mrs. Nelson will get the first $8,000 of the profits.  Young readers will get a lesson, along with Jackson, on the endless work and expenses of running a business.