Basher Science--Oceans

May 15, 2012
Grades 5-8 The newest Basher Science volume not only dives into the zones, tides, weather systems, and currents of our planet's weird watery realm but also surveys that realm's biological denizensfrom seaweed and other members of the Shoreline Gang to such Deep Down Dandies as hagfish, sea cucumbers, and the decidedly strange bioforms that cluster around hydrothermal vents. Each creature and feature is personified both in Basher's tongue-in-cheek cartoon portraits and in the accompanying, fact-laced narratives: Hi, I'm Ray, a member of the shark family. I have stiff, rubbery cartilage rather than hard bones. Green closes with a chapter on scuba diving, oil rigs, and other human uses and abuses of the seas, and Basher adds a detachable foldout poster that gives the gallery in this bubbly outing a final chance to take a bow. A rewarding wade, particularly for readers who think oceanography is a dry study.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)