The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea

by Brenda Z. Guiberson, Gennady Spirin (Illustrator)

Overview

Which sea creature is the greatest? Is it the one with the most venom, the greatest diver, the one with blue blood, or the best rotating eyes? Or is it the master of disguise, the one with the best light, the most slime, or the most eggs? Fascinating facts and spectacular illustrations will inspire young readers to choose their own favorite sea creatures!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805099614
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	06/16/2015
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	152,855
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Brenda Z. Guiberson is the author of many books for children, including The Greatest Dinosaur Ever, Frog Song; Life in the Boreal Forest; Moon Bear; The Emperor Lays an Egg; and the bestselling Cactus Hotel. She lives near Seattle, Washington.

Gennady Spirin is the illustrator of Frog Song and Life in the Boreal Forest. He has been awarded five gold medals from the Society of Illustrators, the first prize in both the Bologna and Barcelona International Book Fairs, and has been chosen four times for the New York Times Best Illustrated Books list. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/18/2015
In their fourth collaboration, Guiberson and Spirin echo the format of 2013’s The Greatest Dinosaur Ever as a dozen aquatic creatures take turns claiming to be the “most amazing creature in the sea!” Each animal describes itself vividly and evocatively: “Predators don’t stand a chance against my powers of evasion,” boasts a vampire squid. Spirin’s always lush illustrations go beyond naturalistic detail to give the subjects a dignity and majesty: a trio of 5,000-pound ocean sunfish, the “heaviest bony fish in the world,” have the glow of Renaissance putti, while a mimic octopus’s copper-and-cream tentacles unfurl languidly across an inky blue seascape. Readers will enjoy debating who deserves the coveted title—perhaps the utterly alien hagfish or the blue whale, which “takes in 17,000 gallons of food-filled water in a single mouthful”? An awe-inspiring look at ocean biodiversity that revels in the significance of every animal. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Readers will enjoy debating who deserves the coveted title . . . . An awe-inspiring look at ocean biodiversity that revels in the significance of every animal.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Handsome, softly realistic illustrations depict an assortment of ocean dwellers, each accompanied by a brief paragraph full of interesting factoids as each creature proclaims itself "the most amazing creature in the sea." . . . An eye-catching jumping-off point for further investigation.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Who is the most amazing creature in the sea? . . . Inviting their readers to choose the answer themselves, this skillful author-illustrator pair again encourages their senses of wonder at the natural world.” —Kirkus Reviews

“With short paragraphs that read aloud very effectively and richly colored, intricately detailed paintings that look their best from a little distance, this picture book is well designed for sharing with groups of children. A natural for classroom science units.” —Booklist

“The Greatest Dinosaur Ever” —By Brenda Z. Guiberson and Gennady Spirin

“Guiberson presents arguments as to why each of 12 dinosaurs should be considered the greatest—tallest, longest, fastest, smartest, best-armored, etc. . . Dino lovers will learn how their favorites stack up.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

It’s as though Guiberson gathered amazing but real inhabitants of the sea around a microphone and asked which is the most amazing. It is a very effective tool for giving us a book that is essentially a list. The first person of the animals comes across as a game show or an odd pageant. What are the qualifications to be the most amazing creature of the sea? Is it the high toxicity level of the box jellyfish? Maybe it is the antifreeze in the blood of the wolfish or possibly it is the 300 million eggs that the ocean sunfish carries around. The riveting illustrations present feeling of walking through a dark aquarium, seeing each animal in the light. Since the reader is the light source, it will be dark again as soon as the page is turned. Kids will love hearing the animals talk about themselves and kids will love the lists. This will make a great read aloud as well as book for kids wanting to explore the oddest parts of the ocean. Back matter includes an author’s note, bibliography and list of other online resources. Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen; Ages 6 to 12.

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

★ 04/01/2015
Gr 2–5—Handsome, softly realistic illustrations depict an assortment of ocean dwellers, each accompanied by a brief paragraph full of interesting factoids as each creature proclaims itself "the most amazing creature in the sea." A wide variety of oceanic life unfolds in the images, which brim with details, from the blue blood of the vampire squid to the natural antifreeze of the wolffish and the gelatinous slime of the hagfish. Other creatures depicted in these hauntingly vivid visuals include a toothy anglerfish, a massive leatherback turtle, and a leafy sea dragon. The final spread is devoted to the lesser fry that keep the oceans—and other fish—clean: the filterers, the alga-eaters, the reef-building corals, and the wrasse. An author's note on the importance of preserving these species is accompanied by a brief bibliography. Pair this with Erich Hoyt's more difficult Weird Sea Creatures (Firefly, 2013) and Sylvia Earle's Sea Critters (National Geographic, 2000). VERDICT An eye-catching jumping-off point for further investigation.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2015-03-17
Who is the most amazing creature in the sea? Following the format of their The Greatest Dinosaur Ever (2013), Guiberson and Spirin offer answers to that question from a dozen amazing sea creatures, plus a passel of helpers. Paintings on double-page spreads show each animal in its likely habitat. In text running across the bottom of the spread, each creature, from box jellyfish to wolffish, explains why it deserves the "most amazing" title. These short justifications are full of the kinds of facts children love. The leatherback sea turtle dives deepest, the shape-changing mimic octopus is a "master of disguise," a female anglerfish sees and eats on behalf of the males it has absorbed, and so forth. After introducing the most venomous, most evasive, slimiest, most frost-resistant, and most enormous creatures, the author surprises by describing some of the smallest: the menhaden, oysters, sea urchins, coral, remora, wrasse, and krill who keep the fish and their waters clean and feed the larger jellies, cephalopods, fish, turtles, and whales. The illustrations, created with tempera, watercolor, and pencil and emphasizing shades of green and brown, evoke the mystery of the ocean depths, a concept reinforced in a concluding author's note. Inviting their readers to choose the answer themselves, this skillful author-illustrator pair again encourages their senses of wonder at the natural world. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews