DIVE INTO A MIDDLE-GRADE WORLD OCEANS DAY READING LIST

by Danielle Sachdeva, Associate Professor of Literacy and Elementary Education, University of North Georgia and Patricia Newman, Sibert Honor author and Environmentalist

Our ocean is home to the wild, the wonderful, and the truly weird. Recent middle-grade nonfiction ocean-themed titles captivate and engage readers with epic stories, fascinating concepts, and startling visuals. The essence of these titles is simple: we have only one ocean and it connects to every aspect of our lives. It provides half of the oxygen we breathe, much of the food we eat, all our drinking water, drives our weather, and affects inland habitats. Without the ocean, we wouldn’t be.  

So, in honor of World Ocean Day (June 8, 2024), we’d like to share ten examples that take tweens and teens on a journey through the ocean’s many habitats and showcase not only the beauty (and the weird) of our ocean but share how scientists learn more about how we affect this foreign place that covers more than 70 percent of our planet.

A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn by Patricia Newman, illustrated by Natasha Donovan(ISBN-13: 978-1541598706 Publisher: Millbrook Press/Lerner Publication date: 9/2023, Ages 8-12)

Before human interference, the Elwha River shared its gifts, nurturing plant and animal life along its banks for centuries. That changed in the early 20th century when the construction of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams devastated the river’s ecosystem, including salmon returning from the sea to spawn. Years of advocacy by the Strong People (the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe) and environmental activists paid off in 2011 when engineers began demolishing the dams, eventually restoring the populations of plants and animals the Elwha once supported, including salmon. Thoroughly researched, lyrical text accompanied by pencil-and-ink illustrations offer readers a hopeful message that what is destroyed can also be reborn.

A Window into The Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea by Michelle Cusolito (ISBN-13: 978-1623543020 Publisher: Charlesbridge Publication date: 5/2024, Ages 10-14)

Below the sunny surface layer of the ocean, the twilight zone is dark, very dark inhabited by millions of cool critters no larger than a pinhead live. Michelle Cusolito joins an expedition of scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for a 24-day journey at sea to gather data about these very creatures. The events are recorded in present tense and give the story a sense of immediacy. We like how the author shows the ups and downs of science expeditions, from the excitement of collecting specimens to the frustration of storms that halt the science.

Aquarium: How Jeannette Power Invented Aquariums to Observe Marine Life by Darcy Pattison, illustrated by Peter Willis (ISBN-13: 978-1629442334 Publisher: Mims House Publication date: 06/2023, Ages 7-12)

Today, we take it for granted that scientists studying marine animals use aquariums. But someone had to invent the aquarium, and French marine biologist Jeannette Villepreux-Power (1794-1871) was that very person. Jeannette’s desire to study live animals led her to build glass cages to hold sea life, much like the aquariums we know today. Her invention, along with years of patient observation, helped her solve marine mysteries that scientists could not answer before. This fast-paced biography accompanied by colorful, cartoon-like illustrations will appeal to tweens and show them how curiosity like Jeannette’s can spark innovation and discovery.

Pelorus Jack, the New Zealand Dolphin: Inspiring a Government to Protect an Individual Animal by Darcy Pattison, illustrated by Eva Dooley (ISBN: 978-1629442419 Publisher: Mims House Publication date: 5/2024, Ages 6 to 12)

At first blush Pelorus Jack was a dolphin that entertained the passengers on every steamer ship passing through the French Pass between New Zealand’s North and South Islands. His antics inspired love and awe in the people who saw him in the late 19^th and early 20th centuries. But there’s more to Pelorus Jack’s story than meets the eye. He captured the attention of curious scientists who identified him as a Risso’s dolphin and nature lovers in New Zealand who lobbied for his protection from the poachers who wanted Jack mounted in their trophy rooms. Pelorus Jack was the first animal ever protected by any national government, something our Endangered Species Act continues to do to this day.

Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean by Patricia Newman, photographs by Annie Crawley (ISBN-13: 978-1541581210 Publisher: Millbrook Press/Lerner Publication date: 3/2021, Ages 9 to 14)

If we told you that half of the oxygen you breathe was made by ocean plants like phytoplankton, would you believe us? It’s true! Planet Ocean introduces readers to the surprising ways that humans and animals are connected to the ocean. It offers a compelling and visually stunning glimpse into the ways human actions are destroying the ocean and the ecosystems it supports. Yet, through portraits of change-makers working to save the ocean, including children and teens, it offers hope that humans can reverse the damage they have caused and reminds us that “the ocean’s story is our story.”

Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Patricia Newman, photographs by Annie Crawley (ISBN-13: 978-1467712835 Publisher: Millbrook Press/Lerner Publication date: 1/2014, Ages 8 to 12)

More than 1,000 miles from the California coast lies the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of discarded plastic items like bottles and toothbrushes and tiny plastic bits. How much plastic is in the garbage patch, and what impacts is it having on the ocean ecosystem? Readers join scientists Miriam Goldstein, Darcy Taniguchi, and Chelsea Rochman on an expedition to answer these questions and others. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, Plastic, Ahoy! reminds us of the dire consequences of pollution, and it offers practical and realistic advice for reducing plastic pollution that readers of any age can adopt.

Superpod: Saving the Endangered Orcas of the Pacific Northwest by Nora Nickum (ISBN-13: 978-1641607933 Publisher: Chicago Review Press Publication date: 4/2023, Ages 8+)

Nora Nickum weaves together science and emotion to connect teen readers to Southern Resident orcas – the killer whales that reside in the Puget Sound in Washington state. As a resident of the area herself, Nickum had access to several scientists studying the habits and family structure of these magnificent animals. Throughout, she shares with her readers a behind-the-scenes look at the ongoing effort to save them. We particularly like this book for its combination of awe-inspiring nature and activism.

The Deep: Wild Life at the Ocean’s Darkest Depths by Lindsay Leigh (ISBN-13:  978-0593521687 Publisher: Penguin Workshop Publication date: 6/2023, Ages 8 to 12)

Fact-loving teens and tweens will love this browseable format that readers can tackle in any order or with a friend. Leigh explores the five layers of the ocean but spends most of her time on the creatures in the deepest parts. The illustrations are colorful and fun with several labels and speech bubbles that anthropomorphize various fish but keep kids reading. The factoids about each fish are cool and sometimes gruesome. How else are middle-grade readers going to remember fish names like enypniastes (which look like headless chickens) and coelacanths (the oldest fish in the sea)?

The Forest in the Sea: Seaweed Solutions to Planetary Problems by Anita Sanchez (ISBN-13: 978-0823450138 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 2/2023, Ages 8 to 12)

Are you looking for a book with new ideas about ways to protect nature? Try this one! Anita Sanchez provides a thorough look at seaweed around the globe as the perfect food full of essential vitamins and nutrients. She also explores how different species of seaweed differ from plants and each other. Readers will learn about several people and animals that rely on seaweed, what seaweed farming is like, why seaweeds reduce cow burps, and how seaweed helps clean our ocean.

The Last Unexplored Place on Earth: Investigating the Ocean Floor with Alvin the Submersible by Aly Brown (ISBN-13: 978-1-250-81668-9 Publisher: Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Publication date: October 2023, Ages 9 to 12)

Did you know that scientists know more about the surface of Mars than the ocean floor? Since the 1960s, the submersible Alvin has helped scientists piece together the mysteries of the ocean’s darkest depths. In this chapter book, readers accompany Alvin on its long and fascinating history of deep sea exploration. Readers meet scientists like Ruth Turner, the first woman to dive with Alvin, and learn about Alvin’s missions through the decades, including exploring the wreck of the Titanic and studying the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Middle schoolers will be especially intrigued by Alvin’s discoveries, including chains of underwater volcanoes, hydrothermal vents teeming with marine life, yeti crabs, and eight-foot tubeworms.

BIOS

Danielle Sachdeva teaches courses in elementary and literacy education at the University of North Georgia. A children’s literature enthusiast, she served on the 2018 Sibert Informational Book Award Selection Committee and is immediate past president of the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group, an affiliate of the International Literacy Association. Follow Danielle at Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=nqdxJOkAAAAJ) or connect with her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-sachdeva-2824a4263/).

Sibert Honor author Patricia Newman uses social and environmental injustice to empower her readers to seek connections to the real world and to use their imaginations to act on behalf of their communities. Patricia’s nonfiction titles have received multiple starred reviews and ALA Notable Awards, two Orbis Pictus Recommended Awards (NCTE), and two Green Earth Book Awards. Her newest title, Giant Rays of Hope: Protecting Manta Rays to Safeguard the Sea releases on October 1, 2024 (Millbrook Press/Lerner). To learn more, visit her website at patriciamnewman.com or connect with her on Twitter (@PatriciaNewman), Instagram (@patricianewmanbooks), and BlueSky (@patricianewman.bsky.social).

Filed under: Climate Change