Book Buds Kidlit Reviews

A nighttime seal of approval

Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean

by Gail Langer Karwosky; illustrated by Connie McLennan

I haven’t lost much sleep wondering how marine mammals from orcas to elephant seals get a little shut-eye of their own without drowning, but this book has a major “holy sea cow” factor going for it.

Dolphins sleep with one eye open, for example, and harbor seals “hang like bottles.” A little boy in red pajamas sleeps right beside them, helping kids imagine what they’d look like in the same positions.

Karwosky and McLennan do a good job revealing the animals’ secrets, and activities at the back reinforce the lessons. Not to mention it adds ammunition to parents’ arsenal in getting their kids ready for sleepy-time: if a walrus can snooze in the arctic cold, kiddo, what’s your excuse?

Rating: *\*\*\

Coming out of her shell

Carolina's Story: Sea Turtles Get Sick Too!

by Donna Rathmell; photography by Barbara J. Bergwerf

Sea turtles can get the flu? Shows what I know. But thanks to the expert ministrations of the staff at a South Carolina aquarium, a loggerhead sea turtle’s nursed back to health after she washes up on a beach one day.

Although she’s named after the state where she surfaced, Carolina isn’t anthropomorphized, thank goodness. Rathmell lets this true story more or less tell itself, since it’s deeply affecting without needing to pander to its intended audience.

The photos do the job neatly if not all that artfully, letting us see each stage of the animal’s recovery. She gets her barnacles scraped off and even gets an injection, poor thing, before she’s well enough to paddle back into the surf. Hooray!

Rating: *\*\