DOWN, DOWN, DOWN

Bibliography:

Jenkins, Steve. 2009. A JOURNEY TO THE BOTOM OF THE SEA: DOWN, DOWN, DOWN. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0547529155

Summary Plot:

Take a journey from the surface then go down, down, to the deepest spot in the ocean where you can learn about marine animals.  You will see the Albatross high above the surface, the Krill the Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish that flash like a neon sign, creatures with soft bodies and tentacles 200 feet long, way below in the dark zone where the battle of the giants occurs.  Dare to read this jaw-breaking, masterpiece full of facts and amazement. 

Critical Analysis:

It’s a journey you won’t soon forget. As the pages goes on so does the depth of the sea, and the reader learns about the marine life that exists in each zone. 

It is filled with creatures that will be unfamiliar to all readers and give details about their capabilities to survive under extreme conditions.  Pages have detailed paragraphs with fascinating information about the world around us.  As each page continues, the reader descends through the zones of the ocean.

At the end of the book the author includes more information of each animal and the different units of measurement the reader can use to have a visual image of the size an animal is or how deep the ocean floor gets to be. Mathematics vocabulary including feet, meters, miles, kilometers, Celsius, Fahrenheit, kilograms, pounds, etc. are added as well. 

Book will appeal to older elementary students through adults with Steve Jenkins this nonfiction overview of unfamiliar creatures and their animal world.    

The book cover illustrations attract the reader’s attention with silver glittery fishes above the two battling giants in a deep blue ocean.  The authors cut out and torn paper collage artwork are of extraordinary marine animals.  The cut-out illustrations resemble 3D pages and keeps the reader hooked.

I really enjoyed this book, especially when it got my 5th graders excited over it.  All of them wanted to take it home for the day.  I even got all the assignments back on time.

Review Excerpts:

* Cybils Award Nominee for Nonfiction Picture Books (2009)

* An ALA Notable Children's Book for Middle Readers (2010)

* “Steve Jenkins is a master at presenting facts with style and clarity.”—San Francisco Chronicle

* The Horn Book: "Jenkins takes his signature collage to the oceans, sinking readers from the surface of the Pacific Ocean down nearly 11,000 meters to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. His style works well here: with passage into each zone (from the surface to the sunlit zone to the twilight zone, etc.), the blue backgrounds shade darker and murkier, which allows the intricate cut-paper animal illustrations to pop."

* School Library Journal: "Depicted in Jenkins's signature handsome collages, the denizens of each level swim against ever-darkening backgrounds ranging from sunny blue to deepest black… he bold views tend to emphasize the weirdness of these little-known species, but the repeated message that humans have much to explore and learn in the deeper ocean is intriguing and inviting."

Connections:

 Gather other Steve Jenkins books to read such as:

* Creature Features: Twenty-Five Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do. ISBN 0544233514

* Eye to Eye: How Animals See The World. ISBN 0547959079

* Que Harias Con una Cola Como Esta? (Spanish Edition) ISBN 8426133916

Activities can include:

**  The length, height, and weight are given for each animal       featured in this book.  Create a graph showing the different animals and how they compare to each other.

**  Pretending you are a newspaper reporter, write a feature article on one of the animals in the book   and create a visual aid to include in the report

*  The artwork in this book is paper collage.  Create a paper collage of an animal or an animal in its natural habitat.