Journey into the Deep

Journey into the Deep

Discovering New Ocean Creatures

By Rebecca L. Johnson

Millbrook Press, 2011

Series: Exceptional Science Titles for Intermediate Grades

ISBN-13: 978-0-7613-4148-2

Grades 4-8

Nonfiction

Happy New Year! I'm kicking off this year with a new 2011 book that I loved. Thank you all for joining me as I begin my third year of blogging about books and science.

"Like a spaceship from a distant galaxy, the massive jellyfish hovers in the frigid water. Its meaty dome-shaped bell is as wide as a doorway and the color of a bad bruise. Beneath the bell, fleshy arms twist and sway. The bell contracts and the jellyfish glides backward. It relaxes, then contracts again. Contract, glide, relax. Contract, glide, relax. With a steady rhythm, the jellyfish pulses through the utter darkness of the deep sea."

The deepest part of the sea is one of the last frontiers, and Journey into the Deep takes the reader to the depths of that frontier. You'll see previously unknown species of life in close-up photographs and read about them in detail as you travel in the "living minestrone" and learn of the myriad life forms science is just beginning to find in the world cooperative Census of Marine Life.

Graphics mix well with sharp, close-up photographs of astonishing animal life amid the variety of ocean habitats. Sidebars give additional information relating to the study of science and the life depicted within the text. Detailed captions provide extra information to accompany the fascinating array of life forms.

This visually stunning book is informative and would fit well into upper elementary and middle school libraries. With the vast amount of scientific information appearing, this book is an excellent way to stay abreast of the latest research and findings. I read every bit of the text and reveled in the discoveries so beautifully documented on each spread.

Activity 1

Trace a food chain or web around one of the deep sea hydrothermal vents. Identify the adaptations each life form has that allow them to live within such a harsh environment.

See additional information about deep sea hydrothermal vents here.

More information about vents.

Activity 2

Define and explain chemosynthesis. Then compare it to photosynthesis.

This site gives information about chemosynthesis and hydrothermal vents.

Learn more about the whale decomposition studies being carried out at the University of Hawaii.

 Roberta at Wrapped in Foil has an excellent review of this book, too.

National science standard: Populations and ecosystems; diversity and adaptations of organisms; structure and function of living organisms

Book provided by publisher.