The Pier at the End of the World

by Paul Erickson, Andrew Martinez (Photographer)

*THE PIER AT THE END OF THE WORLD is on the CBC NSTA 2016 Outstanding Science List* With lyrical writing and stunning underwater photography, this picture book follows a day in the life of the denizens lurking in the cold, tide-swept waters beneath a remote pier on the shore of a northern sea. Vivid photos of a wolf fish munching a sea urchin, a hermit crab switching shells, a sea slug arming itself with stinging cells stolen from an anemone, a 35-pound lobster guarding his domain, and other exotic creatures take us from dawn to darkness. Colorful panoramic paintings show us the bigger picture, including the eyes of nighttime predators and the creatures who are missing the following morning.
The Tilbury House Nature Book series brings the natural world to life for young readers without anthropomorphizing animals. Each book aims for the highest standards of scientific accuracy and storytelling magic.   Fountas & Pinnell Level T

36 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you expect to find around an old, abandoned pier at the end of the world that used to be a busy place but today is crumbling into the sea? Is your answer, “Nothing”? Well, you’d be wrong. Although people are no longer there, other forms of life thrive beneath it, such as plankton, wolffish, sea urchins, sea anemones, lumpsuckers, pout, sea ravens, shannies, many kinds of sea stars, sea slugs, sea scallops, redfish, hermit crabs, and lobsters, among many others. Whether during morning, noontime, afternoon, evening, or night, these amazing sea creatures prowl, crawl, slither, and swim through the waters covering the pier’s old stone foundations. What do you think a spiny lumpsucker looks like?

Author Paul Erickson has authored or co-authored numerous magazine articles and three books about undersea life. Photographer Andrew Martinez’s spectacular images of the undersea world give the reader an up close and personal look at life beneath the ocean’s surface. In the back are a picture comparison exercise and several pages of additional information about other, smaller animals living under the pier and about the species mentioned in the text. There is one reference to something that is said to have taken place hundreds of millions of years ago. Life under the sea has always been a source of wonder for mankind. The Pier at the End of the World is ideal for the future oceanographer or marine biologist. Did you know that the sea slug can arm itself with stinging cells stolen from an anemone?

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title examines the organisms under an old wooden pier in the Gulf of Maine over a 24 hour period of time. A wide diversity of animals are presented-a wolfish, a sea urchin, a sea anemone, a lumpsucker, an ocean pout, a sea raven, a radiated shanny, sea stars, a sea slug, a sea scallop, redfish, a hermit crab, an American lobster, soft coral, a lamp shell, an anemone sea spider, a slime fan worm, a sea vase, a naked sea butterfly, an Aesop shrimp, a sea gooseberry, copepods, and diatoms. The writing is lyrical and the photographs are outstanding. Have you ever seen the two rows of tiny eyes belonging to a sea scallop? Or a wolfish chomping into a sea urchin? A sea slug dining on a hydroid's stinging tentacles so it can repel its predators? Each page is filled with fascinating facts and photos that illustrate the message the text is conveying. The print is large and bold; animal names are in bright color with all the species listed at the back with their common name, scientific name, size, and diet. Strongly recommended for elementary aged children and for students studying habitats.