In the Sea

Paws, Fins, Feathers, Claws

by David Elliott, Holly Meade (Illustrator)

A New York Times best-selling author and a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator explore life in the ocean with clever poems and bold, expressive woodcuts.

The briny deep is home to an enormous variety of fascinating creatures, from the dainty sea horse to the fearsome shark, from the spiny sea urchin to the majestic blue whale. In striking woodcut illustrations, diverse creatures glide through blue and green waters, while succinct, witty poetry examines their behavior and interactions. In this companion volume to On the Farm and In the Wild, David Elliott and Holly Meade explore the depths of the ocean in a collection of poems sure to thrill budding oceanographers and landlubbers alike.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Animals, Science, Childrens, Nature, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 14, 2012

About the author

David Elliott is the author of THE COOL CRAZY CRICKETS and THE TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF ROSCOE WIZZLE. He says of AND HERE'S TO YOU!, "My neighbor’s rooster and I were having a disagreement. I wanted to sleep in the morning; he wanted to crow. The rooster won, of course. The first verse of AND HERE'S TO YOU! is a tribute to his victory and to the joys found in simply following your nature."

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection contains the perfect poems for Poem in Your Pocket Day.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems is a fun adventure through the sea. The short, rhyming poems are fun to read aloud and introduce students to the different creatures living in the ocean. The woodblock and watercolor illustrations make it beautiful book share with your class. I would recommend it for grades K-2 but it could also serve as a poetry mentor text to older students.
If you like this title, On the Farm and In the Wild, also by David Elliott, introduce students to farm animals and wild creatures from around the globe through poetry as well.

[Janet Squires]

Elliot combines simple rhymes and rhythms with a sophisticated use of language to delight young readers and listeners alike. Elegant descriptions of both familiar and unusual creatures introduce the audience to the denizens of the deep.

The Sea Horse
See the sea horse in the sea.
Where else would the sea horse be?
For though it's dainty as a wish,
the sea horse is, you see, a fish.


Meade translates the word pictures into marvelous woodcut prints that beautifully convey the mystery and motion of the ocean.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely woodblock and watercolor illustrations are the highlight of this book of ocean-themed poems. The poems are short and spunky and fun to read aloud. Very nice imagery.

The Starfish

Five fingers,
like a hand,
the starfish shines
in a sky of sand. (p. 11)

[Ashton Bryce]

This was the perfect nonfiction picture book to introduce a younger class to marine life. This book goes through all of the different ocean animals and the things that set them apart from each other and make them unique. He went through all of the major ocean animals that kids would recognize like starfish, whales, fish, and octopuses. What sets this book apart from other books with the same topic is that he includes some more specific and less familiar animals that kids may not know like the giant squid, mackerel fish, and a few others.
The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful and unique and make you feel like you are right there in the ocean. The style that the illustrator used is more unique with a little more abstract and rough strokes than a typical picture book would show. Even though this style isn't typically one that I gravitate to, along with most of the other books I have reviewed, I think the illustrator does an amazing job of bringing the pages to life with the illustrations in a unique way.
I would definitely include this book at the start of a science lesson and maybe include it in a hands-on project that the kids to do. I really like the style of this book and I think it would be something different than the kids are used to seeing. I also love how the author rhymes and uses a different rhyme scheme with each different animal. Even though non-fiction is not my go-to genre, I loved this book!

[Shakemia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems is a fun and inviting adventure through the deep sea that gives us a good look into the creatures and animals that live there. The rhyming features make this book exciting for grades K-4, while giving important information on the creatures of the deep sea. The vivid illustrations are absolutely beautiful and would keep students engaged and curious about all of the creatures! This book could be used to introduce a unit on sea creatures. It could also be used to help introduce an art lesson on watercolors. A research lesson would also be great when paired with this book. Students could pick their favorite sea creature from the book to complete further research on. One thing that I will say is that there is a lot of higher level vocabulary that should be introduced before reading or further explained during reading. I consider this to be a WOW book because the author was very intentional with the wording of the poems. The rhymes were put together in clever ways to help students remember the facts about the animals. I also loved the full-page illustrations and use of watercolors. My students especially love any book that rhymes and awesome illustrations, so I would love to share this book with my class.

[Morgan Drummond · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Sea is like the two other books that David Elliot wrote. It just describes animals that live in the sea. It gives facts and details about all the animals and all that the animals do. It describes the fish and how they look and how they swim and so many more animals. I liked this one out of the three I read the most because I am interested in Sea creatures. I have always been for interested in learning about fish and turtle and dolphins more then tigers and kangaroos. It could be the opposite for other people because some readers may like learning about the wild animals more. Personally I like the sea. I think kids will like learning about the sea animals just as much as wild animals and farm animals. It all depends on the readers individual interest. The pictures are done with watercolor and markers. The animals are drawn to make the pages pop. The kids no only reads what the animals look like but sees it in the pictures. This book could be used before a aquarium field trip or when learning about the sea in one of the units in school.

[Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full color, full bleed illustrations fill the pages of this non-fiction, poetic romp through the ocean. The blues and intense layering make the reader feel like they are really in the water. My favorite page is the octopus one. The illustrations do a great job of building out from the text, creating movement that feels accurate to each animal on the pages.
The subtle rhyming of the text continues the rhythm created by the images. They rhymes also help readers to remember facts in simple ways, like "Coral, As solid as a rock, as colorful as heather, coral's living proof: it pays to stick together." This book includes a variety of creatures and facts about each without proving overwhelming. It would be fun to have students do their own illustrated poetry after reading this book and a few others like it.

[Molly Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very cute and informational for elementary children. Elliott did a great job of teaching marine life in a fun, rhyming way that will keep children engaged throughout the whole book. Holly Meade, did a fantastic job on the illustrations which will keep kids turning the page until the very end! I read this with my nine year old niece, who just began 4th grade and I think that is the perfect grade level for this book. The pages are short and sweet, but some words are difficult for young children to grasp and might need help to pronounce and understand. "The Moray Eel - Ferocious. Cunning. Belligerent. Brave. A sword without its sheath, a dragon in its cave." Most children have never heard of this big words before, so reading this book with them, together is probably the best idea. I would recommend keeping this book on the shelf in the classroom year round.

[Hannah Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many different creatures live in the sea. Some of the creatures are big and some of them are small. They are all unique and have different jobs, high and low, under the water. Explore the ocean and all it hold.

I really enjoyed how it showed all of the animals in a positive light. Books that have sharks in them tend to make them scary and that's all children think of when sharks are mentioned. The book still portrayed the shark with all its big, scary teeth showing but, to me, it wasn't frightening. I really liked that about it.

This book was very educational and gave different facts about the animals showcased. It would be a good way for the kids to learn a little bit about each animal without being overwhelmed with facts.

[Elaine Savage · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet, little rhyming book all about the creatures of the sea. The illustrations of the book are captivating as they portray all the different sea animals. This book explains so many different animals through rhyming phrases, I truly felt as if I truly went into the sea. "In the Sea" would be a good book as students begin learning about the ocean ecosystem. However, there are some advanced words, so the teacher would need to be prepared to define those words. The words flow wonderfully and the pictures are beautiful. I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Caleb Ensminger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really doesn't have much of plot. Throughout the whole book it just lists off different animals in the sea. It lists things like how they are shaped, what size they are, what they do, and how they feel.

I would use the book in a science lesson when teaching kids about the sea and what animals live in it. I could ask them what their favorite sea creature is from the book and have them each do a project over the different creatures.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry: elegant and precise
Science: basic marine life
Art: gorgeous

The poetry was my favorite part of this picture book. Unlike many attempts to make kid's books with catchy rhymes that make adults cringe, the little animal rhymes are real poetry with imagery and word play. They made me smile, surprised me, and satisfied the desire for orderly resolution of thought - like a starfish shining in a sea of sand. Perfect.

[Camryn Constance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very cute for children to read or to use as a read-aloud. On each page, there is a different sea animal and the paragraph underneath the picture describing the animal's qualities and characteristics. This is a great informational book for children to learn about sea life and the animals that live in the ocean.

[Shamaa Farah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how poetry and art are combined to create cute illustrations and portraits for very young readers. It has twenty different ocean creatures. Sea lovers will find this picture book very fascinating and interesting. The young readers not only learn of underwater animals, but they will also be learning by the rhymes throughout the book.

[Chloe Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picturebook has pretty woodblock illustrations and talks about various sea creatures. It's great for younger readers and should be read aloud! This will be a great book to use in my comprehension unit about marine life.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems about sea animals. The words capture the creatures and the illustration help bring each animal to life.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool artwork!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and whimsical words to match some sea creatures.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are simply stunning! I can't wait to read this to a group of kids over the summer.

[Hannah Battles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the pics, words are ok, some better than others.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and uses a wide range of poetry types, all expertly.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better in idea than execution--has little poetic bits for many different animals, some much more interesting and descriptive than others.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big bold illustrations is animals that live in the ocean. Each double page illustration of an ocean animal is accompanied by a brief four or five line poem which describes an attribute or aspect of the animal. For the starfish on of the lines is the starfish shines in a sea of sand. For coral the concluding two lines are cork is living proof that it pays to stick together.
Aimed at younger children, but would be fun as a lead into writing some poetry about sea life with the idea that descriptive poetry can be written with average vocabulary words and we all can describe what we see.

[Vera Godley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts: I am sure you are all beginning to realize that I thoroughly enjoy and love lovely children's books. When they are in rhyme, it simply "lights my fire." That said, let's look at bit at what the author and illustrator are bringing to us today. I see pictures with bold, black definitive lines yet the art is fluid. The colors reminiscent of the sea in all the watery colors. Now let's look a bit at some of the rhymes that tell us about life under the sea.

There are a variety of types of poems in the book.

The Puffer Fish
A trickster.
A clown.
A magician.
A buffoon.
One minute
she's a fish;
the next,
she's a balloon.

Or how about this lovely "The Sea Horse" poem! Picture, poem, and a fact. Learning with enjoyment. That is what a good children's books is all about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author: David Elliott is the author of many books for young readers, including On the Farm and In the Wild, the companion books to In the Sea. He is also the author of the New York Times best-selling picture book And Here's To You!, illustrated by Randy Cecil. David Elliott lives in New Hampshire. illustrator’s comments:

Illustrator: Holly Meade has illustrated many picture books, including On the Farm and In the Wild, as well as the Caldecott Honor-winning Hush! A Thai Lullaby and its follow-up, Peek! A Thai Hide-and-Seek, both written by Minfong Ho. Holly Meade lives in Maine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY: Candlewick Press will mail 1 of Chat With Vera's readers their very own copy of IN THE SEA. Open USA only. Easy entries: Begins August 12 and ENDS September 2 at 12:00 Noon EDT.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what child or children you would enjoy reading this book with. Leave a comment with your email contact information.
Extra entry: Tweet this post using the Tweet button at the end of the post and include the following: @Candlewick #GIVEAWAY. Leave a comment with the Tweet link and your email contact information. You may do this DAILY for more entries.
Extra entry: "Follow" Chat With Vera via at least one of the options in right sidebar: networked blogs, GFC, or email subscriber. Leave a comment with email saying which you have done. (Already follow? Just say so with your name)
Extra entry: Share this post on other social media and back link to this post. Leave your social media share URL or link information in a comment. Leave your email contact information, too.

DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy of "In the Sea" by Candlewick Press so I could give my honest opinion in this review. The giveaway copy that one of Chat With Vera's readers will win will be provided by Candlewick Press.

[Olivia Evans]

Plot Summary: This collection of poems is a fun and inviting adventure through the deep sea that gives us a good look into the creatures and animals that live there. It includes seahorses, sharks, turtles, and even different types of fish and also includes their interactions and common behaviors. For example, one of my favorite poems in this collection is about the dolphin and it says it jumps, leaps, twirls, spins, and he's the jester of the briny deep, an acrobat with fins! The rhythm and rhyming features make this story fun for all ages, while giving beneficial information on the creatures of the deep sea.
Literary Merit: I believe the style of this book is most credible and perfect for the targeted age range. It is age appropriate for younger children because each poem follows just about the same pattern, being very short and going in a column like pattern. Also, the wording is easy to understand and keeps children engaged using short and spunky words. David Elliott uses rhyme to enhance each of the poems as well.
Classroom Connection: This one really got me excited to use in my class because I automatically thought of a great activity. I would have my class pick an animal out of the book, and further research that animal using both digital and non fiction selections of literature. I would ask them to consider where they liked to live, what they ate, how long they lived, their life cycle, etc. Then I would have them draw their animal, incorporating elements of visual arts, and would ask them to make up their own poem about their animal. The poem doesn't have to rhyme, but I would encourage them to try. Since Elliot's book are loaded with action verbs, I would encourage my class to untilize action verbs in their poems as well. This would not only give my students more knowledge on the creatures of the sea, but also gets them critical thinking by trying to create their own poem.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

With grace and skill, Elliott and Meade take well known sea animals and help us look at them in new ways. Combining playful, short poems with dynamic woodblock prints, they draw your attention in and ask you to think just a little more about each of these animals.

Each poem starts with what a child knows, but then extends the image just a bit more. See Elliott's poem on the dolphin:
"The Dolphin
He jumps.
He leaps.
He twirls.
He spins.
He's the jester
of the briny deep,
an acrobat with fins."
David Elliott's poems are completely accessible to children, and yet they create associations the reader might not have thought of. These would make excellent models for children's own writing - strong, active verbs and images. Elliott's humor will also definitely appeal to children. In an interview with Jules Danielson at 7 Impossible Things, Elliott said, "No matter what I’m writing, I’m trying to demonstrate for young readers the power and the beauty, the resilience and the play in their language." I so appreciate that he can do that in a way that is accessible to young children, meeting them at their level and then stretching them just a bit.

Holly Meade's illustrations grabbed me from the very beginning. The giant sea turtle on the cover, with its dappled shell swimming in the aquamarine ocean - just beautiful. The illustrations throughout combine bold, striking woodcut prints with soft hues from watercolor paint. She's written more about her woodblock printing process, describing the indirect path taken to create these prints - a path that results in "images that have a singular boldness and insistence."

The poems and the images combine together in perfect harmony.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teachers will certainly want to add this to their classroom collection since it serves dual purposes: poetry that's fun to read aloud and informative lines that teach readers about marine life. The dedication to the Gulf of Mexico reminds readers of the interdependence of species, a lesson that can never be repeated often enough, giving humans' disregard for the environment. While I enjoyed the earlier two titles from this creative team (On the Farm and In the Wild), this one appealed to me even more, possibly because of the sense of awe and wonder that the 21 poems seem to contain. In places, it's almost as though a child is regarding the denizens of the sea and pondering a seahorse that is "dainty as a wish" (unpaginated). These creations are child-friendly since some of them contain puns that will make readers smile; for instance, the herring is described as being wise since she "lives in a school" (unpaginated). My favorite two poems, "The Moray Eel" and "The Blue Whale," celebrate the moray eel as "a dragon in its cave" (unpaginated) and the whale as "all fluke and fin and fountain" (unpaginated). If the poems have wide appeal--Elliott even creates four one word poems that fit together--the woodblock prints and watercolor illustrations are particularly memorable, assisted by the perspective in some of them; for example, a shark's toothy, wide-open mouth greets readers near the opening pages while only a portion of the immense blue whale may be seen on one page until its dive into the ocean's depths on the next page. I loved everything about this book, and found myself unable to move on to another book until I'd read it again and again, savoring the language and the images.

[Ally Copper · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In the Sea” by David Elliott is a short book of poetry featuring 17 poems about various creatures that live in the sea. The poems are very brief and feature some clever rhymes that will surprise and delight readers (tuxedo and torpedo, apparition and magician, etc.). My favorite poem is “The Shark.” It contains five lines and only 13 total words, but it captures the essence of this terrifying sea dweller better than a lengthier poem could. This poetry book would be appropriate for children as young as preschool age. They will like the brief poems that mostly feature small words that they would be familiar with, though an adult might have to explain words such as “apparition” and “carapace.” But even if children don’t know the meaning of these words, the rhythm and rhyme of the poems will captivate them. I also could see this book being used with older readers (up to middle or high school age) to teach them about poetry. These poems are great examples of how just a few words, chosen wisely, can call forth an image or express a thought or emotion better than lengthy paragraphs full of $10 words. This book also would be a great supplement to any lesson on oceanography or marine biology.

The illustrations by Holly Meade were created using watercolor and wood block prints. The pictures fill the two-page spreads and capture the color and movement of the ocean and the creatures who dwell there. Overall, the clever and amusing poems and the remarkable illustrations make this book of poetry a winner for all ages.

[Michelle Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In the Sea" written by David Elliot is very poetic, educational and beautifully illustrated. The book follows sea creatures like the dolphin, the blue whale, sea horses, sharks and more all while entrancing us with lovely lexicon.

This book is intended for early readers. Appealing to oceanic surveyors and young marine biologists, children will be attracted to it's colorful pictures and brilliant facts. Even though I found many "big" words sprinkled throughout the book, I am huge proponent for the effects that understanding vocabulary can have on early readers and I would never underestimate introducing words like "torpedo", "briny", "apparition" or "jester" to early readers. There is always a way to show and compare words like those to elementary students. Not only would this book be great for a poetry lesson and learning creative words but it introduces and educates about marine life. I also value what this book could do for a Deaf reader. How fun would this book be used to sign, story tell and finger spell? This book can be very beneficial to a Deaf student who is beginning to read and write. Students can research their own favorite sea creature, draw or a paint a picture of their sea creature and write a poem to act as companion. I like this book!

New York, NY : Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.