Early Book Review: Ocean Animals from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick, Kwanchai Moriya

Ocean Animals from Head to Tail is a nonfiction picture book written by Stacey Roderick and illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya. It is currently scheduled for release on September 6 2016. This book uses a fun guessing game to introduce eight different ocean animals and some unique aspects of their bodies. Readers are shown a close-up look at an unusual part of an animal's body and asked to guess its owner. The following page offers the answer along with a detailed illustration of that animal, it’s environment, and some interesting facts.  For example, readers learn that a blue whale's mouth contains baleen, which help it capture krill to eat, and that the tail of a seahorse curls so it can hold on to sea plants for stability.

Ocean Animals from Head to Tail is an interested and entertaining look at m,marine life for young readers. While many facts were not new to me, part of that is because my daughter is animal obsessed and we have done some serious research together on a few of these animals already. I think that the visually captivating pages and chosen information come together to capture the interest of young readers and any older siblings or caregivers that they share the book with. It could lead to further reading and discussions about the included animals, and other curious creatures both in the ocean and on land. The interactive nature of the pages would make this good for reading aloud, taking turns guessing what the animals might be and making it a game as well as an informative read. I liked that the end of the book included additional facts on another eight ocean animals, to further the curiosity and information seeking in our younger readers.