Oceans at Night
Illustrator: Cindy Lane
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Published: June 2024
Genre: Children's
‘The sun is setting. It’s been a busy day. Let’s settle in for the night. It’s time for bed. But before you go to sleep, let’s get ready to dive deep below.’
And so we’re off, on a nocturnal deep-sea journey to meet creatures such as the Dumbo Squid, Angler Fish, Giant Manta Ray, Sunfish, Chambered Nautilus, and many others as they go about their business while the rest of the world is sleeping.
Wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta’s text clearly and concisely introduces fascinating facts about these denizens of the deep ‘as the moon rises’ and ‘a sea dance begins’ – for example, we are painlessly introduced to phenomena such as bioluminescence and echolocation (words which can be found in a small glossary at the back of the book along with a Meet the Sea Creatures gallery).
But the vast majority of the book’s real estate is occupied by award-winning artist Cindy Lane’s marvellous illustrations, which are made using seaweed, sand and found natural pigments as well as more traditional media.
Worthy of a place on your bookshelf alongside Graeme Base’s The Sign of the Seahorse, Alison Lester’s Magic Beach, and even Whale in the Bath by Kylie Westaway, Oceans at Night is another excellent learning resource for younger readers from CSIRO Publishing, as engaging as it is educational.