Atlas of Ocean Adventures by Emily Hawkins

Illus. by Lucy Letherland. Quarto Group, 2019. ISBN: 9780711245303.
Highly recommended. This beautiful book, focusing judiciously on the world's oceans, is a timely addition to any library collection. The pages are busy with detailed soft water-colour illustrations of marine animals and birdlife of every ocean and continent with each placed within their particular habitat. The book is large (37x27cm) and the pages are of good quality, responsibly sourced paper.
Each double page opens to reveal a new part of the world. A large marine landscape/habitat covers both pages. Upon this landscape the creatures can be found and each is accompanied by interesting facts. Each page contains an inset box with a map highlighting the place in the world depicted in the landscape. Most pages contain a second box with a detailed labelled diagram of particular animals.
The wealth of information contained within these pages is easily retrieved by the young researcher through the index or the contents pages and further enhanced by titles, sub-titles, friendly language, maps, illustrations and diagrams. The casual reader's attention would be drawn by the sheer pleasure of turning the huge pages and looking at the intricate pictures.
Atlas of Ocean Adventures opens with a large double page map of the world's continents and oceans and then focuses on particular oceans and the unique wildlife found in each. At the end there is information about the dangers to oceans and activities which send the child back into the book searching for details in the illustrations.
This is a very special book. Junior and Middle Years teachers would find it a useful and attractive resource for teaching within the Geography and Science areas of the curriculum. It is a book that is made for sharing - adult to children or children together. It's the kind of book that would make a very special gift for a child.
Although it could be in a general student borrowing circulation, this book deserves to be displayed prominently in a reserved reference area within a library where it could be available for maximum access for students and teachers.
Wendy Jeffrey