About the Holiday

Today we have two special holidays to share: World Habitat Day and National Ship in a Bottle Day! World Habitat Day was created by the United Nations to emphasize the right for all to have access to a home, or a habitat. It is meant to teach more about both humanitarian and environmental issues, as well as their many intersections. This year’s theme is Accelerating Urban Action for a Carbon-free World. To learn more about World Habitat Day and the various activities happening this year to honor it, check out the United Nations World Habitat Day Page.

Today also marks National Ship in a Bottle Day, a holiday founded in 2013 on the birthday of Jack Hinkley, the founder of the Ship in Bottle Association of America. This holiday is meant to celebrate the magical craft of placing a tiny model ship within a glass bottle with a narrow opening. It is a tricky feat that takes a lot of preparation, skill, and careful execution.

You are probably now wondering what book could possibly bridge these two seemingly divergent holidays. The answer is Shipwreck Reefs— a nonfiction picture book from the Imagine This! series published by Albert Whitman & Company.

Thanks to Albert Whitman & Company for sharing a copy of Shipwreck Reefs for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Review by Dorothy Levine

Shipwreck Reefs

Written by Aimée M. Bissonette | Illustrated by Adèle Leyris

 

“Splash! Kick! Swim down into the deep.” Readers join scuba divers in learning about coral and reefs. However, not all of these reefs discussed are typical. They are sometimes born from sunken shipwrecks or other non-living, human-placed materials. The book begins with some background on coral reefs, and then readers flip the page to a sunken ship, inhabited by seagrass, algae, barnacles and colorful fish. “But is this a coral reef? Yes…and no.”

Shipwrecks provide hard surfaces for small animals like baby corals and barnacles to attach onto and grow into colonies. Over time, sunken ships can become entire ecosystems as the corals grow, providing shelter and food for other animals. More specifically, readers will learn about silver bellied yellow jack, long spine squirrelfish, plankton, rainbow parrot fish, loggerhead sea turtles and more.

Artificial reefs have been around for ages. “In the 1830’s, ocean fishermen in South Carolina constructed artificial reefs out of logs.” Reefs can be constructed from many different materials, from wooden plants to scrap metal, old tanks to sunken ships. “Whether a subway car or oil rig, army tank or shipwreck, artificial reefs do many jobs.” Around the world, there are many reefs that function as both art installations and tourist attractions for deep-sea divers.

The book also discusses how human-caused climate change, pollution from a wide range of contaminates, and the burning of carbon dioxide-producing fuels has caused changes to our oceans that have harmed coral and the other marine life that relies on them. Readers also learn how artificial reefs are beneficial to the ocean habitat. The story reveals: “Artificial reefs help ease the human activity at natural reefs by offering other locations for research, fishing, and diving. Artificial reefs can give natural reefs time to heal, which helps our ocean stay healthy.”

Aimée M. Bissonette follows the story with a page of further information on “Remarkable Resourceful Artificial Reefs,” specifically discussing the experimentation done with artificial reefs and the different creative types that exist. The storyline is interspersed with text in smaller print explaining terms such as ecosystems, scuttling, coral polyps, moray eels, and more for extra-curious readers. Bissonette’s writing is straightforward, and neatly compacts complex terms into simple explanations. The author explains climate change, CO2, and coral bleaching in comprehendible terms to teach young audiences to care about these pressing issues.

Adèle Leyris’s mesmerizing illustrations immerse readers in a deep-sea ecosystem with flashy colored fish, detailed coral, and water-colored blues. The scenes feel authentically underwater, exciting, and full of enticements for the audience to take an extra-long look. The scuba divers are depicted in darker shadows, with spots of light that radiate from the page. One page stands on its own with no text: a murky underwater subway car inhabited by a school of fish, with colorful corals wrapped around the pole. The beautiful illustrations will get readers inspired to learn more about reefs, marine life, and how they can help protect them.

Visually striking and loaded with information that will spur kids to learn more about both artificial and natural coral reefs as well as the sea creatures that rely on them, Shipwreck Reefs is a must for any budding naturalist, classroom science collection, or public library.

Ages 5 – 9 

Albert Whitman & Company, 2021 | ISBN 978-0807512876

Discover more about Aimée M. Bissonette and her books on her website.

To learn more about Adèle Leyris, her books, and her art, visit her website.

World Habitat Day and National Ship in a Bottle Day Activities

 

Exploring the Coral Reef Video

 

Watch this educational video to see some real-life coral reef ecosystems! 

Make Your Own Ship in a Bottle

 

To make your own ship (or artificial reef!) in a bottle, visit Scout Life for detailed instructions.

You can find Shipwreck Reefs at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review