Atlas of Ocean Adventures; Emily Hawkins, illustrated by Lucy Letherland

Atlas of Ocean Adventures is another fabulous title published by Wide Eyed Editions as part of their ‘Atlas of Adventures’ series. There is a lot of water on planet Earth, in fact oceans make up over 70% of the surface of the Earth. In these oceans are a fascinating variety of plants and aquatic life and the oceans are closely patrolled by predators of the skies that live on a diet of the fish they can pluck from the oceans. In Atlas of Ocean Adventures readers embark on an amazing journey into the oceans of the world and explore an incredible underwater world.

Atlas of Ocean Adventures is a wonderful diving adventure through the five major oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic. Travel from the Coral reefs of Australia to the Kelp forests of South Africa to white sandy beaches that are made out of fish poo in Thailand. And are you brave enough to venture to Mariana Trench, known as  the Midnight zone? It is the deepest point on Earth and home to the humpback anglerfish. What’s so fascinating about here is that much of it is undiscovered so who knows what may be lurking down in the deep…

On the diving adventure readers will meet fish with eyes that can look both ways, octopus’s that squirt ink to protect themselves, creatures that camouflage and have colour changing powers, and creatures with all manner of weird behaviours and special defensive skills. From dolphins that can sleep and swim at the same time to playful sea otters. Barrel fish with see-through heads to clownfish that are born male and can turn into females. Male sea horses that have babies to blue whales that are twice as heavy as the biggest dinosaurs. For those that like their ocean animals a little more deadly there are moray eels, great white sharks, man-of-wars and salt water crocodiles. This really is a who’s who of the ocean. My favourite creature has to be the sea dragons that can be found in the Pacific Ocean off of the south coast of Australia.

Oceans are introduced with a large map over a double page spread, a brief introduction and creatures are located accordingly. Thirty-two animals are given their own double page spreads, featuring an introductory paragraph, zoomed in map showing where the animal lives and a close up of the animal which includes fascinating facts. Further snippets of information are dotted throughout the underwater scenes and other smaller creatures make an appearance too - often in the form of predators or lunch for the main creature. The double page spreads are beautiful and are expertly illustrated by the brilliant Lucy Letherland. They are bright, playful and bring the underwater world to life in glorious colour. I really value the inclusion of an Oceans In Danger double page spread. The oceans are under threat from human actions and it is up to us to be more responsible and ensure that ocean life is allowed to thrive.

When all the information gets too much, there is a fabulous ‘Can you find?’ section at the back of the book which challenges the reader to find various things hidden within the underwater scenes. Can you spot the penguin with a bucket and spade in Argentina, a baby otter wearing a lifebelt in the USA and a hammerhead shark with flowers in the Cocos Islands?

The book is a fabulous way for children to learn about the incredible underwater worlds of the oceans. It is an absolute must read for any budding explorers of the ocean and those who have big dreams of becoming biological oceanographers or marine biologists. If you’re a casual explorer of the ocean or like a scuba-dive or snorkel whilst you’re on holiday then there is much you will enjoy about this book. It is published as a large format coffee-table sized book with thick pages that will hold up to endless hours of exploration.

Recommended for 7+