Here Is the Coral Reef (Web of Life, 3)

Love this series. I am a science instructional specialist for a school district and use this book series with various grades to teach about ecosystems and ecology. Each book in the series uses a repetivitve rhyming pattern to introduce each component of the ecosystem and how it interacts with another component. In general each book describes a food web in the particular habitat that is the focus of the book, so ocean reeds in this particular edition. But interactions between both biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) parts of the ecosystem are described. I most recently used the series with a5th grade class. I read one of the books aloud to the class and we built a model of the food web. Students also identified the biotic and abiotic parts of the ecosystem and discussed how they interacted. Then students worked in groups to read a second book together (each group had a different book in the series) and construct a food web model plus describe how the abiotic parts of the ecosystem differed from the ecosystem we read as a class. Each group presented their ecosystem and we worked as a class to make a data table comparing the systems. These books are a great tool for this type of inquiry-based instruction. I particularly like the storyline and illustrations in this oceans reef edition.

Every time I read this book to my two-year-olds they always ask me questions about the ocean and the animals that live there they want the Penguin book next is what they keep telling me and it's wonderful full of school environment the parents also love it too

Not only does my niece love this book, I'm quite fond of the series, too! The illustrations are detailed and painstakingly accurate, but the real treasure is Dunphy's language. The motif may seem simple, but it actively tunes in a child's curiosity, making her or him eager to turn the page and see what's next.

Lovely children love the repeat, similar to the song “the woman who swallowed the the fly”, but much better educational value.

Purchased this to replace the one we lost from the public library. Kids liked it and it helped them learn the reef life. Mom went a little crazy with all the repetition.

Excellent reference book for a preschool classroom . Week done text and illustrations.

This will be an excellent addition to my various aged classroom library. My students always love to hear new read-alouds.

Young children ages 4-8 (the target audience) will enjoy this book about the life that inhabits the reef - the colorful and unique inhabitants such as parrotfish, wrasses, cod, anemone, clownfish, sponge, turtle, ray, remoras, sharks, and eels. The cumulative text by author Madeleine Dunphy is engaging and makes for an interesting and fun reading experience - young children will enjoy this as a read aloud activity whilst intermediate readers will find this an interesting yet not overly challenging read. My five-and-a-half-year old enjoyed reading this and we made a game of trying to identify the different sea creatures portrayed within (she loved that her favorite, the clownfish, were prominently portrayed in here!).The vivid, full-color illustrations by illustrator Tom Leonard enhance the text and make this an engaging book. The "Here Is" series by Madeleine Dunphy is educational, fun, and engaging for young children and will enhance any public/school/home library as an educational resource. The glossary at the end of the book also provides useful information.