About Habitats: Seashores:

About... A Guide for Children

by Cathryn Sill, John Sill (Contributor)

Studying nature? Going to the beach? Dig into this classroom favorite and beginner's guide to seashores from the creators of the award-winning About Habitats series.

In this accessible introduction to a familiar locale, author and educator Cathryn Sill uses simple, easy-to-understand language to teach children about seashores and their diversity, the types of animals and plants that live there, and why they're important.

The stunning paintings by noted wildlife illustrator John Sill depict the wide variety of seashore topography. A glossary and afterword provide more details about each seashore featured in the book.

Perfect for early childhood and elementary units on nature, environment, and ecosystems.

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

48 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2017

About the author

Cathryn Sill, a graduate of Western Carolina University, was an elementary school teacher for thirty years. She lives in North Carolina.

When she was an elementary school teacher who loves nature. When she had trouble finding good natural history books for her kindergarten class, she decided to write them.

With her husband John as the illustrator, she has created two series of nonfiction books for children.

The ABOUT series is about different groups of animals and includes 16 books. She has just completed the eighth books in a series about habitats.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing their exploration of the world's habitats, the Sills provide an accessible but fascinating glimpse into various shorelines. While many youngsters may be familiar with beaches and shorelines that are near their homes or vacation spots, the text and images make it clear that those places provide a living space for many animals. Thus, readers learn about different types of seashores, some characterized by rocky structures, and others by mud. Whatever the case, this is where they raise their young and often find food. By the time readers finish the book, they may be in awe at the variety of life supported along the world's seashores, ranging from adult acorn barnacles that never move from their resting place to Red knots that are frequent flyers, traversing a path that runs from the Arctic to South America every year, and stopping by Delaware Bay for sustenance during their journey to their nesting ground. The 17 full-page watercolor plates are incredibly detailed and thoughtful in their execution, and the plates are particularly impressive because they contain a species and its habitat with labels to inform readers about what they are seeing. Back matter includes thumbnail sketches that expand on each plate's content, telling more about the animals and the places they inhabit. The last page and last plate remind readers that some of these areas and species are threatened by the encroachment of humans on their land. Science classroom teachers need to snap this book up for their collection, but they may find it hard to let it out of their own hands because it is informative and visually appealing, another excellent work from this reliable creative team. Can you tell that I'm a fan of their work?

[Lea Triantafillou · Rating 3 out of 5]

About Habitats:Seashores is a nonfiction children’s book that teaches about the different seashores around the world. This book is appropriate for children ages 3-7. It is an information text that covers material about the different seashores that we see all around the world. The book covers content about high-tide and low-tide, tectonic plates, and different parts of nature we might see at different seashores. The text uses rich vocabulary to talk about the plates in the ocean. The language used in this text is factual and provides information to the reader. The illustrations in this book look very realistic. The different seashores are labeled with the type and which tectonic plate they fall upon. One drawback from this book is that the labels are not as straightforward as I would like them to be. This is the reason I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars. The sole purpose of this book is to provide content knowledge about seashores to young readers. I recommend this book be used alongside an activity. Hearing and seeing the different seashores first will provide an abundance of background knowledge. It is a very easy read that includes parts of nature that children could recognize and relate to. I recommend this book for anyone doing a thematic unit about seashores, or anyone who needs more nonfiction books in their classroom library!

7/13/18

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

The About Habitats series by Cathryn Sill (author) and John Sill (illustrator) are some of my favorite introductory nature books. Every other page has one simple informational sentence and then small text in the corner which shows what primary animal and/or plant is in the proceeding beautifully painted picture. The afterward of each book has a mini-picture of all the preceding pictures and gives a little more information about what is contained in each picture. Also, there is always a short glossary at the end.

At the top of each of the books front matter page (where the publication info is) there is always a short Biblical verse, this is the only thing which indicates that the Sill's are, probably, Christian. The last narrative sentence in each of their About Habitats books are "Seashores are important places that need to be protected," "Oceans are important places that need to be protected,' etc. (depending on what is discussed). I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to know there is a Christian couple who cares about conservation...unfortunately that doesn't seem to often be the case (I'm saying this from a Christian perspective).

[Trudy Zufelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple language and realistic watercolor paintings merge the world where water meets land. From the white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean to the rocky beaches of the Pacific Ocean, readers are not only introduced to the beauty of the coastlines those beaches represent but also to the plants and animals that thrive in the coastal environments.

For the young reader who ever wondered where sea lions take naps, Seashores will provide the answer. Each picture or plate contains descriptive back matter at the end of the story that provide the most curious a chance to discover even more about seashores that the straightforward text provides. The budding environmentalist will love the depiction of the natural formations and wildlife of the undeveloped shores.
Original review as it appears on my blog, Boys To Books

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sill, Cathryn About Habitats: Seashore PICTURE BOOK. Peachtree, 2017. $17.

A simple explanation of what a seashore it, the types, and what creatures live there. Features watercolor illustrations.

The text in this book could not have been written better for helping younger readers to understand about seashores. Perfect for Kindergarten. Though I prefer big bright photographs in non-fiction, the illustrations are quite lovely, cool and subdued feeling. Overall I think the book has a dated feel (I was sure it was a reprint but its not) and I don’t think students would choose this book on their own over say, the DK seashore book we have, but it would make a perfect teaching tool for a read-aloud on habitats.

EL(K-3) –OPTIONAL. Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a pop in visit to a public library in another state I discovered a title by this husband/wife duo and enjoyed the format of brief text and the beautiful nature art. Hence returning to my state I am working on interlibrary loaning a number of their titles.
This one text wise and visually shows one type types of beaches found around the world. For this nature lover their work enlightens me to focus on the various aspects of what habitat I might be in.
Following the text and art there ia a further paragraph of info on each of the plates. Also included are a brief glossary, bibliography, and websites for further info.
I loved plate two depicting three different types of seashores and plate ten Pacific tide pools at high and low tide. Seeing the differences in these comparisons was intriguing.

[Alex Reneski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are very nice, but accompanying text adds little. "Mud covers some seashores"? Plate 2: many kinds of seashores : Atlantic Ocean seashore illustrated by boulder strewn beach next to large pine trees? What happened to Atlantic City, Ocean City, and all of Florida?
An index in back offers a little more, but what parent or kid is going to refer to an index for each picture.?
I think that a few pictures of people at the seashore would help to engage children.

Book provided by good reads.

[American Mensa · Rating 4 out of 5]

About Habitats: Seashores is a non-fiction book for children ages 3-10 years old. My favorite parts are all the pictures and animals. I also like the other information at the end. I love how it is so easy to read, and I think other kids would like it because of the animals. I think it would be good for book reports, learning, or just reading. I also think other kids would like the book because of the seashores and oceans. I am so excited to get the next book in the series! I am very glad that I got to read this book, and I hope to get another good one soon!
Dominic D., 7, Tampa Bay Mensa

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction picture book uses simple text (one sentence for each 2 page spread) and detailed colored illustrations of a complete scene to present information about seashores around the globe. It is one title in a series about habitats. Animals and plants that live on seashores are examined. Each illustration (plate) is discussed in an afterward which includes more difficult vocabulary and a more detailed explanation. Reluctant readers find this series helpful because the text is not overwhelming.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

About Habitats: Seashores, is a lovely illustrated children's book. For each page, the reader is offered one brief fact about the seashore complete with a beautifully illustrated picture which demonstrates the fact. Plant and animal life is labeled. While the text is brief this allows an adult reader to talk about what the child is seeing in the images. This book is a wonderful addition to any children's library.

I won this book in a Goodreads' giveaway, but the opinion is all my own.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all seashores are the same. This book goes through the different types of shores, the animals that inhabit them, and so much more!

I loved reading through this one, and learning a bit more about the different types of shores around the world.

This book is perfect for youth, young readers, and classrooms! Learn about seashores the fun way!

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple walkthrough of seashores with artistic renderings rather than actual photos though they are based off of real places. I wish there were actual photos. But from the science and habitat perspective, it gets the job done.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and clear illustrations don’t just show the scientific facts of the different seashores around the world but also give the feel, the tone of them too. A very pleasing introduction to the life and variety of the world’s seashores.

[Sue Poduska · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with the other books in this series, the author does a great job of covering all the information that most kids would want to know about the subject.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads. It did have nice pictures and not too many words but the children weren't very interested. The book came in 3 pieces no reason that I could see. The pictures were nice.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, information and beautifully detailed illustrations.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

exceptional illustrations. The Sills Rock!!!

[Orion Kopf · Rating 3 out of 5]

MUD! DIRT! ROCKS! BIG AWA!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice addition to the series.