View source for Basher Science: Oceans by Dan Green and Simon Basher

{{infobox2
|title=Basher Science: Oceans
|author=Dan Green and Simon Basher
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Learning with a smile - a look at the oceans and the creatures which inhabit them, told be the oceans and creatures themselves.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=128
|publisher=Kingfisher
|date=March 2012
|isbn=978-0753433447
|website=http://www.basherworld.com/
|video=qu2IfXLlje0
|aznuk=0753433443
|aznus=0753433443
|cover=0753433443
}}

I've often wondered why this planet is called 'earth' when three-quarters of it obviously isn't and it seems that I'm not alone.  Dan Green and Simon Basher have decided to take a close look at the oceans and other bodies of water on the planet and to explain them in simple words, accompanied by Simon Brasher's illustrations which are almost - but not quite - manga.  It's a style which kids are going to be comfortable with - and they're not going to associate it with something boring which they have to learn.  It's fun.

The fun is continued in the text too.  It's told in the first person - so Ocean, who looks as though he's kitted out for skiing, tells us about himself (love those shades) and the various places he can be found - he's pretty proud of himself and with good reason.  Sea is rather more modest and unassuming, but still has a few interesting points to make, such as the fact that the Sargasso Sea is the only one with no land boundaries.  Each description takes just a page, with some statistics at the bottom and a picture on the opposite page.

It's easy reading and learning with a very gentle touch.  We work our way through the bodies of water, the way in which it moves, what happens on the shores, the reefs, the open water and in the depths.  There's even a special chapter on the inhabitants of the colder waters and another on the way in which the oceans are explored.  With a good index and a glossary - both things which is a good idea to get kids used to using - it makes an excellent starting point both for understanding the oceans and learning how to use more serious books.

There's even a brilliant poster in the back of the book!

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Slightly older children will love [[Go Green! A Young Person's Guide to the Blue Planet by Claudia Myatt]] - we did.  The young eco-warrior will love [[Planet In Peril by Anita Ganeri and Mike Phillips]].  You might also appreciate [[Our Amazing Planet by Jon Richards and Ed Simkins]].

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[[Category:Dan Green]]
[[Category:Simon Basher]]