A First Book of the Sea
Written by Nicola Davies
Illustrated by Emily Sutton
One of my boys brought this book home from the school library and it has been such a pleasure for us all to read together before bedtime. So much so, I asked him to borrow it for a second week, so we would have time to reread a few of our favourite poems and have another go at singing the humpback whale song, which had us all in giggles.
We don’t read much poetry. Not because we don’t want to but we just don’t seem to come across it that much. This was such a refreshing read. I really enjoyed reading the poems aloud to the kids and discussing their meaning afterwards.
The illustrations by Emily Sutton are beautiful and offer so much detail to study closer. A treat for the eyes and soul, perfectly illustrating the lovely poetry.
The book covers many topics about how humans have lived with, for and by the sea throughout history from historic seafarers and trading ships to kids collecting pebbles and building sandcastles on the beach.
And of course we loved reading about the marine life and the wildlife living from and around the sea. The clever and beautiful poem about blue whales was a favourite. My husband Simon is off to Sri Lanka soon to film blue whales and we can’t wait to hear about his personal encounters with these extraordinary creatures – the largest animals known to ever have existed on our blue planet.
With 70% of the earth covered in water, the state of the ocean obviously has a massive impact on our lives and with 7.8 billion people on the planet, we have a massive impact on the health of the ocean, from our waste disposal to how we use and exploit its resources.
I felt this book gave plenty of good opportunity to discuss these issues with the kids and put into context how vast the ocean is and how important it is for us, and for all life that depends on it to thrive.
I found it on Book Depository and they offer free delivery worldwide. We have ordered many books from here and it is our first choice international online bookstore. Occasionally our orders have got lost on the way but the low prices and the excellent customer service; they always offer to replace the lost books for free, makes up for it and is the reason we return to buy more books from here.
We have loved reading this book together and I thoroughly recommend you read it with your kids. I have now added “Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals” and “Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature” also written by Nicola Davies to our book wish list, as we have birthdays coming up soon and I am certain the kids will love them (and the parents too!). I think they will add value to how we explore the world around us and are at the same time a lovely means of adding more poetry to our bedtime and reading routine.
Happy reading!
