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Review by Nancy Griffith
David Lambert has assembled an amazing number of facts and fantasies about the world's oceans, and with 1998 being officially declared The Year of the Ocean, "The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Oceans" could not be appearing at a better time. "Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet's surface" reads the first sentence in the introduction, and there is much to explore in their depths.
The topics, which are many and range from physical oceanography to marine biology, ocean exploitation and environmental concerns, are all presented in easy-to-understand language and copiously illustrated in full color. Every topic is covered on two facing pages. The text is dovetailed with maps and pictures in an attractive way that is bound to hold the attention of young readers (ages 8 and up). The diagrams throughout are really a drawing card for oceanographers-to-be, making things like the floors of the oceans and the migratory paths of whales much easier to understand.
"The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Oceans" also has a fairly complete section of brief biographies of oceanographers since 1700 and a glossary and full index at the back. Fun and full of information, the book is a superlative reference choice for children.
Lambert lives near the ocean himself, along the coastline in southeastern England. He is the author of nine nonfiction books on seas and oceans, as well as more than 80 books for children and adults on the earth sciences.
Nancy Griffith is assistant professor at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, Florida.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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