Follow the life cycle of a tiny coral planula and learn the broader impact of coral reefs on the health of our oceans
Tiny Floating Coral starts small with a tiny coral planula floating through the ocean in a soup of plankton, looking for the perfect place to settle, divide, and grow. It finds a place on a healthy reef off the coast of Australia. Learn about the remarkable life of coral, how it feeds, starts a colony and becomes a part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef—a vast underwater city where other animals live, feed, hide, and bring up their young. The story’s narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding, and the delicate illustrations bring the story to life. Thinking BIG, the book highlights that 25 percent of marine life relies on the world’s coral reefs, and the big foldout map shows where they can be found. There is also an illustrated life cycle, and a Reef I-Spy to take children back into the book to deepen the learning experience. The books features a large foldout illustration on the final pages and a die-cut hole, highlighting the coral, on the front cover.
Praise
"Massive coral reefs grow from tiny beginnings. The main narrative, set in short bolded sentences on appropriately colorful spreads, . . Auld has done a good job of explaining coral simply and building young readers’ understanding of their life cycles, Scarlatte’s accurate, detailed images deserve careful attention; the drawings and maps and their clear labels add to the information value of this clever presentation. Educationally sound and engaging."
—Kirkus Reviews
