Tideland Treasure: The Naturalist's Guide to the Beaches and Salt Marshes of Hilton Head Island and the Southeastern Coast

by Todd Ballantine

Tideland Treasure is an illustrated guide to the beaches and marshes of the Eastern United States coast, encompassing seashores and wetlands from Ocean City, New Jersey, to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Rich with true-to-life illustrations and hand-written text, this handsome guidebook captures the nature of the sea, beach, salt marsh, plants, and animals of the region in an easy to understand text. Common names are used to make the information memorable for casual beachcombers and amateur naturalists alike.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

Reviews

[emily gielshire]

I have read this book cover to cover as it sits on my desk while I’m working and connects me to the lagoons and tide pools outside when I need a mental break. I am BEGGING to interview Todd Ballantyne for amateur naturalist one day but he is hard to reach!

[Anna]

(This review is of the revised, 2013 edition.)

I didn't precisely read this book, but used it like a field guide to look up things I saw on the beach at Pawleys Island. The book is based on weekly columns the author made in a magazine for Hilton Head Island, so it's not completely comprehensive, but each page stands alone well, making it easy to dip into. The drawings are beautiful, and (in my inexpert opinion), the contents seemed to cover Pawleys Island pretty well. If you're only going to be at the beach for a week or two and want one book to cover your bases, Tideland Treasure will do the trick.

[Emily]

Handy and accessible guidebook. B&W sketched illustrations accompanied by appealing handwritten text. Provides a good level of detail for learning something about familiar species and identifying new ones.