My First Fact File Oceans: Everything you Need to Know

My First Fact File

by Jen Green, Wesley Robins

My First Fact Oceans is the perfect introduction to life underwater for readers aged 5 and up.
 
Read about the coral kingdoms beneath the waves and the incredible creatures that live within them. Discover how the gravitational pull of the Sun and moon controls the tides on Earth. Learn how we can work to protect our amazing oceans from the harmful effects of pollution.  

The world underwater is fascinating, deep and dramatic. Get ready to dive in and explore!

Genres: Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2019

About the author

Jen Green is a British author of over 300 non-fiction books for children and adults. She earned a doctorate in English literature from Sussex University and became a full-time writer after a career in publishing. She lives near the Sussex Downs.

Reviews

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of all the fact files, this one is my favorite because it's about the ocean! The book focuses on the ocean geography in the beginning while the other half talks about human activity involving the ocean. I definitely recommend this the most since at the end of the book, it talks about pollution and how to reduce it so I think it's a very good starting point for children to start learning about how to protect and save the environment. The only thing I didn't like is that the tips for this fact file was just a repetition of the summary in each chapter.

I've read each of these fact files before posting the reviews and since they're technically almost the same books, though just with different topics, my reviews may be similar to each other.

What I liked about these fact files was that they were short and to the point. The art is simple but childishly cute and it was nice that they covered the whole page. There are tips and also activities mentioned in some pages.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.


*Also Kate seems to have forgotten to remove her instructions from the digital copy.* 😉

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-organized, informative and beautifully illustrated, My first Fact file Oceans is another great title in this fabulous series. The book covers a wide array of topics related to oceans: geography, exploration, various sea animal habitats, the concept of food chain, weather, and last but not least, the issue of plastic pollution. The information is accessible and supported by colourful illustrations and fun experiments to make learning more memorable.
A beautiful, child-friendly non-fiction book that would make a great addition to any home or school library.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ivy Kids (Quarto Publishing Group) for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and collection are very well done. Short documentary for kids around 8-10 years old maybe. It's well explain, well organized, as good illustrations to help understand and even have some simple but really cool activities that kids can do at home. There is a couple of those on various subject, so I suggest you look them up and see if your children have an interest in some of their subject, if so, I would definitely recommend looking them up!

[Ann T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Quatro Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is a great, brightly coloured, information packed book, and it came at perfect timing for my 7 year old who is studying the oceans at school. This book was a great resource and source of conversation for the school project.

[Octopodey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look at oceans, with good explanations of how the ocean works. The pictures explain things clearly and I love the inclusion of at-home experiments that people can try to see how things work for themselves.

I was gratified to see the discussion about climate change included. I am confused about why the person in the 10,000 years ago dugout boat is so pasty looking instead of brown-skinned. And then we get into sea exploration and "famous" Christopher Columbus, which would probably be better avoided if one isn't able to discuss the issues with the explorers. I think that it would be better to put the plastic pollution box larger, especially if you're going to say that we make plastic from oil from the ocean. That could get confusing very quickly. And I think the "waste harms coral reefs" is not a strong enough sentence - "waste kills coral reefs" would be more clear and honest. Kids are the ones who are going to be making decisions about how to act environmentally in the future, so they need to know the truth now.

One quibble that did not take away from my enjoyment of the story, but which I do want to bring up: "Fish, seals, and whales have smooth, streamlined bodies shaped like torpedoes." Shouldn't it be "Fish, seals, and whales have smooth, streamlined bodies and we shaped torpedoes like them"? Because really, which came first. Also, I don't really expose my kid to war and violence anyway - she's three and I'd read a book about oceans with her but she doesn't need to know what a torpedo is. It's something we're so accustomed to using as an analogy that we don't really think about it, but I think we should.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

My First Fact File Oceans is part of a series of short fact and exercise books aimed at younger children (K-2+). Released 23rd July 2019 by Quarto on their Ivy Kids imprint, it's 48 pages and available in paperback format.

Very well done book, and an interesting and worthwhile series. I've been touting STE(A)M education for decades. This book is engaging and colorful. Facts are presented in context with color gouache paintings on each double page. Relevant information is presented in sidebars. The included STEAM activities are also presented in sidebars at the bottom of the pages. Possibly worth noting, the book uses British spellings: 'mould', 'washing up', etc. The instances are few, and clear in context, so it's not a problem, but probably worthy of comment in a review.

Chapters are short and cover ocean geography, oceanography, different habitats, exploration, food chains, ecology, conservation, and much more. The art style is unpretentious and appealing (see cover).

This would make a great bedtime read or a reading circle or classroom read for young readers, and the series would be great as a part of the homeschool library. There's a short alphabetical glossary included at the end.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Terrie Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

This informational book is simply fabulous. It lays out fun facts about Oceans and the things that affect them such as habitat of sea animals, food chain and weather changes. It even includes a section on pollution and how to combat it.

This book is colorful and laid out it a fun, interesting way. Each page contains a great deal of information about things such as boats/ships, icy habitats and dangerous waters. Along with the information provided, the pages contain fun facts and experiments the reader can perform.

The illustrations are cute and comical if you look for the humor. The primary colors enhance the excitement of delving into the subject.

I highly recommend this book and the other book. My First Fact File Weather, to homes and elementary schools alike. I intend to purchase all of them and collect new ones as they are published. This will be a great addition to any library.



I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

[nik · Rating 5 out of 5]

My First Fact File Oceans has a huge amount of knowledge, condensed in the perfect sized book for children. My daughter & I read through and she was fascinated as we learned about the oceans, the creatures that live there, and how they survive. She thought the experiments included in the book sounded fun and as a mom I thought "Bravo" for including those. What a great way to show kids first-hand how things work. The illustrations are beautiful and flow together well. The information at the end of the book regarding pollution and how it is affecting our oceans was a great way to end the book; my daughter and I talked about how we can leave the world and its beaches better than we found them as to make a better habitat for its creatures. Also, I have to admit... I am 31 and I learned some things from this book! My daughter and I both thoroughly enjoyed reading. Thank you NetGalley, Dr. Jen Green, and Ivy Kids. I am definitely recommending this to my friends with little ones of all ages.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable primer for all things oceanic, that will serve pretty well in a primary school library. Pleasant double-page spreads attest to the strong design, while the text is basically an introductory paragraph, and other bit-bots, with the artwork's captions conveying many factoids. You also get ideas for perfectly kitchen-table-friendly science experiments, which will add to this volume's shelf life. Topics covered are perfectly sensible, ranging from the life in various waters (Arctic, deeper seas and coral reef), the concept of the food chain, what makes a hurricane, and more. The brevity of it all is enough to make us hopeful the closing sections on pollution and environmental awareness will not be forsaken. I do think the book was pitched rather young, however, with every spread getting a 'quick facts' box-out that was stating the obvious and rather repetitive. That aside, this series of non-fiction guides looks to be one worth consideration.

[MV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


This book is clearly organised, very engaging to look at and has an excellent balance of text to illustrations. The text s broken up and laid out in an easy to follow way. The information does not feel too wordy (which often leads to students becoming disinterested) and the use of 'Quick Facts' boxes makes it easy to find snippets of information.
I'll be recommending this to my colleagues who teach ocean topics as well as adding it to our library,

[Leah Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I vote we have all information presented in this series style. Honestly the images are beautiful and colourful. The information is easy to understand and there is a lot of it. It is interactive and fun.

This is one of the most well done information books I have seen in a long time. I want to own this whole series for my kids.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
My First Fact Files series.
Green provides facts and information about oceans for elementary level readers.
Simple to follow text in text boxes and captions explain the headings on each spread.
Realistic illustrations support the information.
Reader activities provide further STEAM challenges.

[Kristen V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another engaging book from the "My First Fact File' series! I've read a few of these and love all of them - I will definitely be using them in my homeschool curriculum with my children. Lots of information, pictures, and hands-on activities is sure to make this book a favorite of curious kids!

[야일 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get yourselves a physical copy and then enjoy with your kid. Colourful and factfull you will have a blast with this wonderful book.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book for my 8 year-old daughter. She thoroughly enjoyed this book. She found the facts interesting and the illustrations were really good, even on an iPad. We enjoyed it so much that we purchased the book in paper form and have added it to our educational books for home-education.

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This whole series is fantastic. My child was sucked in b all the information as well as the pictures. Loved it


I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.