♦ In this handsome companion volume to the ALA Notable book Feathers: Not Just for Flying, Stewart and Brannen provide insights into why seashells vary so greatly in shape, size, and color. Beyond providing protection for aquatic animals, shells sometimes offer forms of locomotion, disguise, warnings, tools, and waste removal. A double-page spread on the nautilus opens, “Seashells can rise and sink like a submarine,” and explains that the animal creates vertical movement by pumping in or releasing water from its spiraled shell, which has chambers containing a lightweight gas. A marine-blue underwater scene features a close-up of a nautilus with a dark gray submarine visible in the distance, while a separate drawing of the nautilus shell points out its gas chambers and the movement of water. The large-print text that runs across the tops of the pages makes excellent use of similes, while short, clearly written paragraphs of pertinent information appear below the illustrations. From the book jacket to the typefaces to the layouts, the book’s design is inviting. The beautiful watercolor paintings work seamlessly with the text to clarify concepts, while keeping the book’s audience in mind. Suggesting new ways to think about seashells, this volume is highly recommended for science collections.
—Booklist, starred review
A well-researched addition to the ocean biome canon, Seashells is unique in that it pairs form with function. Both the text and illustrations present information that is easy to digest and understand. Introducing the concept that seashells come in various shapes and colors due to their different jobs, the author and illustrator then launch into examples such as the scallops that can flit like a butterfly. This is paired with an illustration of a butterfly, a diagram of a shell and how its movement mirrors a butterfly, the shell in its environment, and corresponding text. The language is not too informational or too -poetic; it is just the right amount of colorful and interesting. An appendix of sorts and additional resources are included. VERDICT A delightful addition to an elementary library's nonfiction collection.
—School Library Journal
An essential book for young beachcombers, Seashells: More Than a Home provides a fascinating overview of 13 kinds of shells. In her accessible text, author Melissa Stewart covers the form, function and native habitat of each shellfish, from the beautifully curved chambered nautilus and the heart-shaped cockle to the Atlantic bay scallop with its rows of fine ridges. Stewart uses analogies from everyday life to help readers understand how these “treasures from a secret world beneath the waves” house clams, snails, oysters and other creatures. Artist Sarah S. Brannen brings the narrative to life through watercolor scenes of boys and girls exploring the seashore and collecting specimens. Precise sketches and diagrams of the shells lend a naturalist feel to the proceedings. Suggestions for further reading and a listing of mollusk types round out the volume. This fun, fact-filled book will inspire up-and-coming collectors while equipping them with important information.
—BookPage
04/01/2019
K-Gr 4—A well-researched addition to the ocean biome canon, Seashells is unique in that it pairs form with function. Both the text and illustrations present information that is easy to digest and understand. Introducing the concept that seashells come in various shapes and colors due to their different jobs, the author and illustrator then launch into examples such as the scallops that can flit like a butterfly. This is paired with an illustration of a butterfly, a diagram of a shell and how its movement mirrors a butterfly, the shell in its environment, and corresponding text. The language is not too informational or too poetic; it is just the right amount of colorful and interesting. An appendix of sorts and additional resources are included. VERDICT A delightful addition to an elementary library's nonfiction collection.—Amanda C. Buschmann, Carroll Elementary School, Houston
2019-01-28
What is a seashell?
"Every day, seashells wash up on beaches all over Earth, like treasures from a secret world beneath the waves." But how are they alike, and how are they different? How do shells work? What can they do? Accessible and detailed watercolors accompany general, simile-heavy statements elaborated with brief, factual paragraphs and charts of interesting informational tidbits. They explain some of the variations seen in attributes of seashells, including their buoyancy, how they open and close, and some of the different ways that they act as camouflage. The text doesn't provide explicit information about what a mollusk is until the final pages, and the general statements use the word "seashell" interchangeably to describe both the outer shell and the creature within, which sometimes results in inaccuracy. Seashells don't "send out warnings like the signal from a lighthouse," for example; it's the mollusks inside them that do. Still, curious youngsters will find food for thought and have much to ponder and observe as they examine the pages, and they'll have new things to look for the next time they return to the beach.
An imperfect but pleasant introduction to the world of shells. (Informational picture book. 5-8)
