Safari Beneath the Sea: The Wonder World of the North Pacific Coast

by Diane Swanson

Illustrated with full-color photographs from the Royal British Columbia Museum, this book introduces some of the North Pacific's most fascinating aquatic inhabitants, spotlighting their unusual characteristics and habits.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

58 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Diane Swanson grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta. When she was a child, she collected rocks, watched insects, went swimming, and ate ice cream cones. She could make paper dolls and play the piano. Diane held pet shows and circuses for the neighborhood children. And to make a little cash she gathered cardboard boxes and sold them to the local grocery stores. She listened to radio programs like The Cisco Kid and played cowboys. Diane also loved to read. The Secret Garden was one of her favorites and she always wrote stuff—all kinds of stuff, especially her own adventures.

Diane’s dog, Sammy, was her ever-present pal. On summer mornings they would walk to a lake and scour the shore for neat-looking rocks. At home, Sammy would sit by the piano as Diane played, pretending that she had discovered a song that could open the door to a secret passage. Diane recalls that about the only thing they didn’t enjoy together were prairie thunderstorms. Sammy would hide, while Diane loved to watch the lightning flash across the sky. She thought it especially great when a hailstorm broke while they were outside. Then she and Sammy would take cover in the garage and send messages along the clothesline to the house: “We’re stranded! Send cookies!”

Now a full-time author, Diane has made a career of writing fun and informative factual books for kids. She credits the astonishing natural world as the inspiration behind her writing. Children have always influenced her approaches to writing: the child she once was, her own two children, and all the children she knows. One tip that Diane would give to young writers is: “Write what really excites you. No matter what your subject is, if you let your excitement shine through your words, you’ll grab your readers’ interest.”

Diane has published over 70 books for children including her latest with Annick Press, Animal Aha! (Spring 2009), about some of the incredible discoveries made about animal bodies and minds. Other books written by Diane include A Crash of Rhinos, A Party of Jays (2006). The Wonder in Water (2005), is a look at just what's in the wet stuff, from the tiniest drop of sweat to the largest ocean. Tunnels! (2003)is the first in the exciting True Stories from the Edge series. While researching these real-life tunnel stories, Diane unearthed the fascinating true story of two families’ daring 1979 escape over the Berlin Wall in a homemade hot-air balloon. That incredible event didn’t fit the underground theme of Tunnels!, but Diane could not let go of the story’s powerful message of triumph over dangerous political folly. The result is her first picture book, The Balloon Sailors (2003), a creative allegorical storybook based on those inspiring true events.

Other Annick Press titles by Diane include The Dentist & You (2002), Turn It Loose: The Scientist in Absolutely Everybody (2004) and Nibbling on Einstein's Brain (Original 2001, Updated 2009), which has recently been updated and newly illustrated. Her work has earned numerous awards, including the B.C. 2000 Award, the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, and the International Youth Library’s White Raven Award. Her work has also been shortlisted for the Mr. Christie’s Book Award, the B.C. Book Prize, the Red Cedar Award, the Silver Birch Award, and many more.

She was one of the original members of the Victoria Chapter of PWAC (Periodical Writers Association of Canada), a member of The Canadian Children’s Book Centre, is a member of CANSCAIP, CWILL, and was a volunteer tutor for Project Literacy.

Diane lives in Victoria, B.C., with her husband. When not working on writing projects,she is busy geocaching, ballroom dancing and raising bonsai trees. She also often visits schools and attends conferences.

Reviews

[Katie Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes you on a glimpse into the North Pacific Coast and all of the undersea life. With interesting facts about many animals, when reading this book you are able to get a grasp into the ocean life and its complexities. I would recommend this book to grades 4-5.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures in this book are gorgeous. It's worth a look for them alone, which is, in a way, the point of it. But I found the language a bit off-putting. I'm not sure what age group this is aimed at, but I know I would have found the writing slightly patronizing when I was a eleven or older. At the same time, it seem a little beyond the reading ability of the age for whom it might not be patronizing. Perhaps it's meant to be read to a younger child.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informational book describing much of the marine biodiversity of the North Pacific Coast. This book does a great job of introducing the North Pacific Coast and its inhabitants. The book begins with a chapter on marine environments, cleanly setting the stage for the marine animals that are described in the later chapters. The photos the book provides are eye catching and well placed with the text, which really helps readers get a picture of the environments and animals. Each chapter flows smoothly in its discussion of the different animals. Different sections in the chapters will discuss a number of animals, but the text isn't broken up into pieces for each one, it moves on like a narrative. The book's word choice is clearly made for younger readers, avoiding needlessly complex language and providing explanations for any scientific terms that it has to use. The book would be a great starting point for teaching young readers about the biodiversity of the ocean and how animals interact in their environments.

[Ashli Stroyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Safari Beneath the Sea: The Wonder World of the North Pacific, by Diane Swanson, is an informative children’s book about life under the sea. It takes its readers on a journey under the waters of the North Pacific and introduces them to both the exotic and ordinary creatures that inhabit it. The author starts by painting a picture in the reader’s mind by describing the geography of the ocean, along with other characteristics such as temperatures, terrain and wind currents that make it a livable environment for all that live there. The readers get to learn about the well-known marine animals such as jellyfish, octopus, slugs, sea urchin and many more as well as some unfamiliar creatures. Throughout the book readers will learn about these different creatures and their lifestyles like what they eat, their survival traits and behavior patterns. The structure of this book was very well organized with an abundant amount of detail included on every page. The organization is free of clutter, and is logically developed in a way that is appealing to the eye and mind. The pictures are very detailed and eye catching so they encourage the visual learner to read about the animal in order to find out what they are actually looking at in the picture. The facts are presented in a way that children will be able to understand them, while still being appealing to more advanced readers. This is a great book that many children will love regardless of reading level and a great way to introduce life under the sea.

[Andrew Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. Being a native of the Pacific Northwest and a lover of the sea, this book was pretty much the greatest thing ever. I enjoyed every second of it. It actually took me way longer than it should have to finish reading the whole thing because I kept stopping to reread aloud to my roommate (a fellow PNW native and ocean lover) something on literally every single page. I showed him the pictures and we had animated discussions about the different facts and creatures within the book, which was so much fun. We google-imaged a lot of the animals, too (the alabaster nudibranch is AWESOME). Every page excited me and had something very fascinating that I simply had to share. I expected to enjoy this book, but not nearly this much! Definitely a new favorite for me!

Safari Beneath The Sea: The Wonder World of the North Pacific Coast explores the vast array of life that dwells in the North Pacific Ocean, specifically around the Pacific Northwest area. It provides many large pictures, and all text provided is informational and stimulating. You could tell the author was just as excited about the material as I was! The facts were both fantastic and enthralling, and had me itching to go back home to the PNW and finally learn how to scuba dive.

[Tayler Pomeroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells about all the kinds of plants and animals found in the sea along the North Pacific Coast. The first chapter gives an overview of the North Pacific Coast. It explains that there are different kinds of plants and animals, and it explains the different ways people can tour the sea. People can scuba dive, go in a submarine, or use remotely controlled vehicles where people can view the sea life through a camera on the RCV. The second chapter explains the different kinds of plants and their structures. Third, the book talks about different kinds of sea creatures. Chapter 4 explains the unique types of fish along the North Pacific Coast. Finally, chapter 5 writes about marine mammals found in the sea along the North Pacific Coast. This is a nonfiction chapter book, but it is also a picture book. It is really interesting content, and a book like this could be used when fourth graders learn about the salmon cycle. I liked how the book is a general overview of a lot of information. The pictures made it appealing as well.

[Lauren Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Safari Beneath the Sea: The Wonder World of the North Pacific Coast by Diane Swanson is a wonderfully photographed book about the sea. This book and it’s beautiful photographs are all about the North Pacific Coast. It gives factual information that can help kids get an understanding about the area. “The cold waters of the North Pacific Ocean are rich in nutrients that help plants grow.” This book could no doubt be useful in a classroom to discuss the ocean and some creature that live in different kinds of oceans. The style in addition to its organization as a book is quite nice and easy to follow. I feel that this book definitely deserved the Orbis Pictus Award because just the photographs alone are stunning and paired with the information it makes a very solid, classroom worthy non-fiction and informative book.

Swanson, D. (1994). Safari beneath the sea : The wonder world of the North Pacific Coast (1st ed.). San Francisco: Sierra Club Books for Children.

[Annette Ruane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is cool because it features sea creatures that live in the ocean that borders Washington State. “The cold waters of this North Pacific Ocean are rich in nutrients that help plants grow” (1). Books like this appeal to me as a reader because I am more of a visual learner and pictures help me personally understand the words. This book is an awesome collection of real photos of exotic creatures that live in the ocean. Along with each picture is a blurb describing the pictures and facts about the animal in that picture. This also appeals to me because the facts are short and sweet keeping my attention. I have no questions about this book, it only made me more intrigued to go out and find out more about the underwater life of the Pacific North West. I would recommend this book to both young as well as old, it was an easy read.

[Sarah.Ujita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informational book life under the sea. Chapter one talks about the North Pacific coasts. Its goes over the different sea plants and animals, and then talks about different ways people can explore the waters. Chapter two goes into explaining the different types of sea plants and their habitats. Chapter 3 talks about the different sea animals and the characteristics that make up each animal. Chapter 4 talks all about the different fish along the coast. Chapter 5 covers the sea mammal animals and talks about the different characteristic these animals have that are similar to other mammals. This story would be good to

[Miranda Gaboury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is wonderful informational text that would be a great tool in teaching children about sea life. It was also very educational for me. I love to learn about animals and the creatures that are in the vast depth of the ocean amazes me. This book is full of beautiful pictures and facts that will teach you all about sea life.

[Taylor Renfroe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it was of marine life but I don't think it's age-appropriate for a young children's class because of the pictures of animals they may not be familiar with and the higher level words they may not know the definitions too.

[Heather Edrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has great pictures and information about the sea. This would be a great addition to my biomes unit. It has lots of examples of ocean life.