Caroline Bingham (2)

There are few sea creatures who can match the colorful beauty of coral. DK 24 Hours: Coral Reef really captures that beauty while educating on the diversity of life found on coral reefs. I love reading children's books (or any book for that matter) that teaches me something I didn't already know. If I am learning new things as an adult, then I can be assured that my children are learning new things too. One of the fascinating facts I learned from this book is that coral reefs have cleaning stations where shrimp and small fish clean away parasites and other organisms both inside (mouth and gills) and outside from turtles and larger fish without being eaten. Until reading this book, I didn't know that the whale wash in the movie, Shark Tale, had a basis in reality. I was also introduced to many new species that I hadn't seen before such as Harlequin ghost pipefish, mandarin fish, flashlight fish, and Christmas tree worms to name just a few. Overall, I thought this was a wonderful book that will appeal to both parents and children alike.… (meer)

I have mixed reviews about this book. On one had, the pictures are great and very detailed. They are actually photographs of fire-suits, fire trucks, firefighters and houses and they are very detailed, even labeling all of the parts and describing what they do For visual learners, the book does exceed expectations. What I didn't like about the book is the way it is written. It is not very engaging to read or for the children to hear., as it does not relate to the audience well. For example, much of the book is "This is a firefighter", "this is what his suit does" , :This is a firetruck" and then very bleakly goes into the truck's purpose. I read this book to my two year olds and tried to make it sound interesting, but they were just not into it. The main idea of the book is to inform about the operations of a firetruck and the firemen who drive and operate them.… (meer)