Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts

Monday, July 1, 2019

Emperors of the Deep ~ Book Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway!


EMPERORS OF THE DEEP
by William McKeever
Adult Non-Fiction, 320 pages
Environment, Ocean Wildlife, Marine Life
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release date: June 25, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M
(Intense underwater moments and descriptions of interactions
with sharks both in diver and hunting situation)


BOOK DESCRIPTION:  In this remarkable groundbreaking book, a documentarian and conservationist, determined to dispel misplaced fear and correct common misconceptions, explores in-depth the secret lives of sharks—magnificent creatures who play an integral part in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans and ultimately the planet.

From the Jaws blockbusters to Shark Week, we are conditioned to see sharks as terrifying cold-blooded underwater predators. But as Safeguard the Seas founder William McKeever reveals, sharks are evolutionary marvels essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. We can learn much from sharks, he argues, and our knowledge about them continues to grow. The first book to reveal in full the hidden lives of sharks, Emperors of the Deep examines four species — mako, tiger, hammerhead, and great white — as never before, and includes fascinating details such as:

  • Sharks are 50-million years older than trees;
  • Sharks have survived five extinction level events, including the one that killed off the dinosaurs;
  • Sharks have electroreception, a sixth-sense that lets them pick up on electric fields generated by living things;
  • Sharks can dive 4,000 feet below the surface;
  • Sharks account for only 6 human fatalities per year, while humans kill 100 million sharks per year.

McKeever goes back through time to probe the shark’s prehistoric secrets and how it has become the world’s most feared and most misunderstood predator. He takes us on a pulse-pounding tour around the world and deep under the water’s surface, from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to the coral reefs of the tropical Central Pacific, to see sharks up close in their natural habitat. He also interviews ecologists, conservationists, and world-renowned shark experts, including the founders of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, the head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, and the self-professed “last great shark hunter.”

At once a deep-dive into the misunderstood world of sharks and an urgent call to protect them, Emperors of the Deep celebrates this wild species that holds the key to unlocking the mysteries of the ocean — if we can prevent their extinction from climate change and human hunters.

BUY THE BOOK:
WATCH THE TRAILER:
CLICK TO VIEW ON VIMEO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Photo Credit: Debra Somerville
William McKeever is a writer and documentary filmmaker. He is the founder of Safeguard the Seas, an NGO dedicated to ocean conservation. He is the producer and director of the forthcoming feature-length documentary Man Bites Shark.

Connect with the author: 


Enter the Giveaway!
ONE COPY OF EMPERORS OF THE DEEP
US only. Ends July 20, 2019






Friday, April 15, 2016

Science Comics: Coral Reefs ~ ~ Blog Tour & Review



SYNOPSIS: Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic--dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty-year-old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

This volume: in Coral Reefs, we learn all about these tiny, adorable sea animals! This absorbing look at ocean science covers the biology of coral reefs as well as their ecological importance. Nonfiction comics genius Maris Wicks brings to bear her signature combination of hardcore cuteness and in-depth science.

BUY THE BOOK:  
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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Oh, how I wish a book like Coral Reefs had been around when I was in middle school. Narrated by a sassy little yellow prawn-goby fish, this colorful, fun, humorous, and wonderfully informative book takes readers on quite a tour.  Don't misjudge this as comic fluff; it is far from it. The book covers a lot of material without shying away from the scientific words and big concepts.   

As expected, coral reefs are defined and explained, but author Maris Wicks looks at the bigger picture of the ocean and how coral reefs play a global role. Each section introduces new concepts, and Wicks does a great job of summarizing and repeating key content.  The narrating goby fish provides witty asides, but is always clarifying what's true and what isn't so there is no confusion.  Climate change/global warming and being a good eco-citizen are all discussed, though I was very surprised that there was never a warning to readers about the importance of keeping a distance and not touching living coral.

The illustrations are wonderfully bright and interesting and along with the loads of information, Coral Reefs is a book to return to again and again. The Grammar Police did find a typo and a couple of errors, but I still highly recommend it to middle grade readers and adults alike (I learned a ton!).  This needs to be on the shelf in every school library and science classroom. 

Thank you to ReadWriteLove28 and First Second Books for providing me a gorgeous print copy in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Maris Wicks lives in sunny Somerville, Massachusetts. She is the author behind Human Body Theater, as well as the illustrator of New York Times-bestselling Primates, with Jim Ottaviani. When she's not making comics, Wicks works as a program educator at the New England Aquarium. She is quite fond of being in the water, whether it's swimming in ponds or scuba diving in the Atlantic Ocean.  Find out more about Maris and her work: 
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