Life Cycles of Marine Animals (series) ADVISABLE

Molnar, Michael. Green Sea Turtles ; Laysan Albatross (series : Life Cycles of Marine Animals). 32 pgs. Smart Apple Media, 2012, c2011. $20 each. (NONFICTION) This 6-book series explores the life cycle of the two animals in the titles above, plus bottlenose dolphins, emperor penguins, great white sharks, and humpback whales. The two I reviewed followed a similar format. After an introductory spread about life cycles in general, each book then has 2-page chapters about what the animal looks like, where it lives, and what it eats. The majority of pages are dedicated to an overview of the animal’s life cycle, and details about each stage. Finally, each book concludes with two short chapters about threats and what we can do to help. The information and pictures are good enough and contain enough details to appeal to any elementary school student. Each book also contains many text elements of nonfiction: table of contents, maps, graphs, index, glossary, headings, subheadings, captions, and sidebars. If you have any teachers doing units on the ocean, these are a must. EL – ADVISABLE. Reviewer: PKFoster, teacher-librarian