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Into the Sea

Alix Berenzy (Illustrator), Brenda Z. Guiberson

27-Aug-2000 - Added: Childrens_Books/Ages_9-12

Reviews

mary emerson-smith  Friday, 27-Aug-2004 at 12:56:17
Editorial Reviews:

From School Library Journal:
Experience the life of a female sea turtle as she breaks from her shell, splashes into the sea, and navigates for survival, eventually returning to the place of her birth to lay eggs. This tale of her life cycle is written in prose that gives immediacy to the events as the turtle encounters other sea animals during her long journey. Guiberson uses italicized sound words such as tap, tap, and scritch to draw readers into the story. Berenzy captures the essence of the text with her colored-pencil and gouache illustrations that alternate from dark to light, reflecting the various habitats. Both backgrounds and featured animals are realistic in appearance, but the overall effect lends a sense of drama to the text, especially the striking moonlit beach scenes. The author's concluding statements emphasize the diminishing number of sea turtles and the ways in which people are trying to protect them. For basic facts, turn also to Gail Gibbons's Sea Turtles (Holiday, 1995), but let Into the Sea touch young readers with a sense of place and sensitivity for this gentle creature of the sea.

From Booklist:
Guiberson recounts the life of a sea turtle from its days as a hatchling on a sandy beach through its return to the same island as an egg-laying adult many years later. Using vivid prose, the author describes the creature's initial journey into the sea, its growth and travels throughout the ocean, and its narrow escape from a fishing net. The reptile's survival adventures provide readers with ample real-life drama, making anthropomorphism unnecessary. Berenzy's bright colored-pencil-and-gouache paintings help to elucidate the text and will give young listeners many details to ponder. In particular, the illustration of the tropical coral reef will attract many viewers, both for its scientific detail and for its intriguing composition. A perfect choice for primary oceanography or endangered species units, this has a strong-enough story to use as a read-aloud

School Library Journal:
"Let Into the Sea touch young readers with a sense of place and sensitivity for this gentle creature of the sea."

School Library Journal
"A perfect choice for primary oceanography or endangered species units, this has a strong-enough story to use as a read-aloud as well."

Booklist:
"In Brenda Guiberson's sensitive hands, the story flows as freely as the currents that carry the turtle though the shallows and open seas. The variety of Alix Berenzy's pictures, from the eye-popping colors of a coral reef to the dappled light on an endless bed of grass, brings surprise with every spread"
--The Five Owls

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