The Global Ocean

Starting with contextualizing information about how ocean currents and the water cycle connect, this latest in the Citizen-Kid series shines a spotlight on the world’s imperiled global ocean and its history, its many human-caused threats, and myriad ways that people might seek to restore its health. Thick, wavy black-line borders separate Donovan’s stylized digital illustrations from Strauss’s to-the-point text. Abutting descriptions of ocean stressors such as overfishing and pollution, “Ripple of Change” sidebars offer hopeful actions. The last two sections catalog both organized ocean rescue efforts and everyday choices that people can make, depicting people of varying abilities, cultures, and skin tones working together to protect “Earth’s beating heart.” A final note to teachers and families, alongside an image of a family reading a bedtime story, presumably about the ocean, exemplifies one way to increase ocean literacy among youth. An extensive index concludes this fact-heavy mix of science and environmental activism that sets an empowering rather than despairing tone. Ages 8–12. (May)