A Swim Through the Sea

by Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini

An alphabetical tour of ocean animals. Praised by Jacques Cousteau, this book, illustrated and written by a 16-year-old is a classic introduction to the marine habitat. This classic book takes kids through an alphabet of underwater sea creatures. Fun alliteration highlights a selected species with a full-color illustration and a paragraph of fascinating facts, surrounded by a frame full of extra creatures and vocabulary. Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini once again successfully inspires a generation of children about one of our planet's most precious and fragile realms. Perfect for anyone looking for books:

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

44 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful alphabet book. I was surprised to find that it was written and illustrated by a 16year old.

[Katy-Margaret Doss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review for A Swim Through the Sea by Kristin Joy Pratt. This book is an alphabet book that takes the reader in the ocean through the eyes of a little seahorse named Seamore. From A-Z this books names different animals and creatures one might see in the ocean and information about those creatures. I loved this book! I loved that it was educational and could be a great introduction to a unit about the ocean. I loved all the information it gave about the different sea creatures and the illustrations were great! Kids would enjoy looking through at all the different ocean life and would learn something at the same time. This book could be used for both younger and older children. I would use this book with younger children to work on the alphabet, naming colors, and answering "wh" questions.

[Courtney Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever take on “the ABC book.” The illustrations are beautiful and my daughter loves fish right now, so she loves looking at these pictures.

[Eric Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. A beautiful and interesting ABC book written and illustrated by a 17-year-old. Nice job!

[Villa Park Public Library]

Seamore the seahorse takes readers on a colorful journey and an alphabetical tour of the plants and animals underneath the ocean through the pages of this very charming, detailed book. With a unique and colorful design, the author has illustrated the pages with twenty-six different creatures ranging from angel fish to zebra fish that live in the world’s oceans. Each letter page is filled with a picture of the animal in its surroundings. Around each picture are wonderful borders showing other animals whose names begin with that given letter, while the text on each page is a paragraph of interesting facts and information.

To those interested in learning about the sea’s environment, this alphabet book is truly appealing and educational. The watercolor illustrations are rich in colors and simply stunning. The text includes a mixture of a preschool narrative with large type, combined with paragraphs containing somewhat complex vocabulary. For this reason it is a bit too complicated for the younger reader to comprehend at first.

Although the suggested ages are 4 to 8 for this book, the overall outcome is enjoyment for readers of any age! Group or family participation recommended. For those that love the different ecosystems, especially the ocean, the DVD Oceans, [©Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2010:G, 84 min.] might be something to check out for you, your family or even your classroom!

Check this book out at the Villa Park Public Library!:
https://catalog.swanlibraries.net/client/en_US/vpd/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:2137982/ada?qu=swim+through+the+sea&lm=VPD

And for those interested in the DVD...
https://catalog.swanlibraries.net/client/en_US/vpd/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:2408081/ada?qu=oceans&lm=VPD

[Nicole Dylewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A swim through the sea first reminded me of the movie finding nemo. I saw the cover of it at the library and decided to look through it. From my surprise it was not like the movie and in the back of my mind I knew it was not going to be. Instead it illustrated many fish and ocean life for children to look at and read about. This book helped children understand about environmental awareness but in a fun way rather than reading a complicated boring article about it. I thought the pictures were illustrated really well and I spent a lot of time looking at them to see which different fish live in the sea. I am not well informed about the sea life and this book helped better my understanding. The book goes from a-z and each letter of the alphabets talks about a different under water creature. I thought this was done nicely and in a way that older people could read through it too.

[Hannah Kauper]

This book was a cute book about what is in the sea. It was a cool way of showing and introducing the world we do not see. I loved the illustrations, very detailed and interesting to look at. This is a very good book to use in the class room for explaining and showing what goes on in the sea. This would make me interested in the sea. I loved this book and really highly recommended it.

[Aaron Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated ABC book that uses creatures found in the sea. Each letter of the alphabet chooses a specific type of undersea animal to talk about. However, it also includes the names of other animals that live in the Sea and begin with that letter is well. While this is an ABC book, it could also be used for students in older grades who are studying under see ecosystems and habitats. Some of the information given is intended for students at a higher level of understanding than most kindergartners who would be learning their alphabet.

[Anna Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Swim Through the Sea by Kristin Joy Pratt is a really neat tool to teach kids about the ocean. It’s basically a tour of the plants and animals in the ocean. There are also really pretty pictures that children will enjoy and find interesting. It’s also set up like an alphabet book which is a good tool. It goes over specific species of things paired with interesting facts regarding each one. It is one of the more interesting facts books, one that is engaging as well as educational. I would definitely use this in my classroom and recommend for other teachers.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book for my son at our local library the other day. He is in love with Finding Nemo, and the clownfish on the cover sold me on picking it up for him. It was a pleasant surprise to see that it was an alphabet book. At just over 2 years, we've started to work a bit on the alphabet. I think it's incredible that the author did the illustrations herself at the age of 16. She's very talented. This is a definite re-read and will be added to our to buy list! I also wouldn't mind making copies of some of the artwork to hang up in my son's room! He absolutely loved this book!

[Hope L. Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really like this book. Here is why:
The illustrations are lovely! The author alphabetically educates the reader on sea creatures. This is wondrous in itself. Some of the letters would be really hard, but this author makes them natural and interesting. The author also alliterates! It's pretty great. On top of that, there are factual bits beneath the main reading sections. So this book could grow with your child! All around the pages are more informative bits, like labels for types of seaweed and moss. Really great!

[Allyn Backus]

When I was a kid, I loved sea creatures and I know they are hugely popular with kids today (especially because of Finding Nemo and Spongebob). This is also an early reader, which I used to read as a child. The super colorful and cute sea creatures make kids want to read this book while they learn abcs as well. Letters are given to each creature, giving a whole page to focus on the one letter. Overall a great, entertaining book for young readers.

[Hannah Morrison]

Beautiful! We used this book in our ocean unit in art. The students were taken aback with the wondrous illustrations, and the alphabetical order of creatures made it easy for them to remember. It was such an awesome way to integrate art and literacy as students brainstormed ideas for their collage from the book.

[Katie O'brien]

I loved books like this when I was a kid. This book introduces the ocean to children. It goes through all the different species that live in the ocean and explains each one briefly. This book is great for young learners to help get them started in science. The pictures are bright and interesting which also helps pique children's interests.

[Khadija Bensaadoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Swim Through the Sea", is a beautifully illustrated Alphabet book that introduces the different animals of the sea. This book can be used for grades k-3 to introduce the topics of oceans and the different animals that inhabit this ecosystem.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy reading this book. It was very long and had a lot of information on every page. I was overwhelmed by it. I think this would be good in a classroom that has older children. This would be my go to book if I needed information on a certain fish or creature that lived in the sea.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introduction to life under the sea, even if the premise set-up is a little silly. Gentle lessons are imparted about protecting the oceans, but it is not done in a heavy-handed way.

[Brittany N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an alliterative storyline and includes the alphabet. It is good for a lesson on the sea. It illustrates plants and animals of the undersea kingdom.

[Feagizoku · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great ABC book. Wonderful aquatic pictures. Hide and seek seahorse on every picture amuses older children.

[Stephanie Whittit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was alright. It is a little more lengthy so I think it would be better for older students. However, the illustrations were nice and made the book more enjoyable.

[Lindsay Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a seahorse swimming through the ocean and finding other sea creatures from A-Z! Throughout the swim he finds many different creatures and the book teaches you about the creatures.

This is a good information book because it explains the different types of creatures throughout the sea and also addresses the alphabet.

[Sophia Amborn]

I really enjoyed the illustrations of the book. I think it is a wonderful book for science. It is not only colorful but it is filled with many good facts that can be used for teaching. I would definitely use this book for teaching about marine biology and have students use this book for one of their references for their poster project. I think this book is good for those who are in 1-4 grade.