Fish Biology

Did you know there are over 400 different species of sharks? Did you know they have been on Earth much longer than humans, and even lived before the dinosaurs? Here you'll learn all about these fearsome kings of the ocean, including their eating habits and the basics of their anatomy. Sharks come in many sizes, from under a foot long to over 40 feet - and that's not even counting the long-extinct, 60-foot-long Megalodon shark. And while some have been known to bite people, they are usually quite content to hunt other sea creatures.

Have you ever wondered just how a glow stick works? Or what about those glow-in-the-dark stars you stick on your ceiling keep on shining? In her first book, author and teacher Anita Sitarski answers these questions and more giving listeners the inside scoop on everything that glows. Fireflies, bacteria, squid, jelly fish—what do all of these things have in common? They glow! It seems like one of mother nature’s mysteries, but many curious scientists have begun to shine light on this beautiful phenomenon.

Beyond the biology and behavior of these sea creatures, "Marine Biology for Kids" delves into the unique habitats that make up the marine ecosystem, from coral reefs to the open ocean, and the delicate ecological balances that sustain them. It doesn't shy away from the pressing issues of human and natural threats to these environments, fostering an early awareness and stewardship in young listeners. The book rounds off with an inspiring call to action, guiding aspiring young marine biologists on how they can start on their path and make a difference in the world of marine conservation.

With three hearts and blue blood, its gelatinous body unconstrained by jointed limbs or gravity, the octopus seems to be an alien, an inhabitant of another world. It’s baggy, boneless body sprouts eight arms covered with thousands of suckers—suckers that can taste as well as feel. The octopus also has the powers of a superhero: it can shape-shift, change color, squirt ink, pour itself through the tiniest of openings, or jet away through the sea faster than a swimmer can follow.

In what he says is the most important piece of environmental writing in his long and award-winning career, Mark Kurlansky, best-selling author of Salt and Cod, The Big Oyster, 1968, and Milk, among many others, employs his signature multi-century storytelling and compelling attention to detail to chronicle the harrowing yet awe-inspiring life cycle of salmon.

Jeanne Villepreux-Power was never expected to be a scientist. Born in 1794 in a French village more than 100 miles from the ocean, she pursued an improbable path that brought her to the island of Sicily. There, she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how the argonaut octopus gets its shell. In an era when most research focused on dead specimens, Jeanne was determined to experiment on living animals. And to keep sea creatures alive for her studies, she had to invent a contraption to hold them: the aquarium.

What do you know about clown fish? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals. In addition to curricular information, social-emotional questions encourage reflection and family/educator engagement tips help connect the topic to the listener's life. These books are sure to make a splash!

¿Quién es la criatura más hambrienta en el mar del sur? El camarón antártico puede moverse en cardúmenes y el bacalao azul puede estar cazando para cenar, pero ninguno es lo suficientemente feroz como para estar en la cima de la red trófica. Este es un cuento con sabor a "pescado" sobre quién se come a quién. Los depredadores se vuelven presas y finalmente, sólo un animal llega a la cima. Bucea dentro del rítmico texto y averigua quién podría ser.

Dive beneath the waves to meet the crabs, fish, turtles, whales, and seaweed that live in the ocean habitat. Pair this nonfiction title with its fiction companion book, The Fish.

What do you know about rays? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

What do you know about starfish? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

What do you know about dolphins? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals. In addition to curricular information, social-emotional questions encourage reflection and family/educator engagement tips help connect the topic to the listener's life.

What do you know about sharks? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

What do you know about jellyfish? Beginning listeners will get their feet wet with these literacy-building introductions to ocean animals.

Join Papa and Little One on a very ordinary day, as they explore Little One's big question: 'what do we need?' Together, they decide they need lots of things—clean water, friends, a home—but, above all, they need each other.