Professor Clark the Science Shark

Keep yourself busy and cool things will happen. 

A brilliant colleague, Brian LaPointe (a review on one of his lectures about artificial reefs posted on 5/9/2010, so now you have an excuse to scour the archives!), serves as the inspiration for a lovable character surfacing in the new children's book series Professor Clark the Science Shark.  I heard about a book signing but missed the opportunity to attend.  So, naturally I dropped a line to Brian asking how could I get an autographed copy.

Within a few days my phone rings and the series' author Scott is on the other end, bursting with passion and enthusiasm for his new project.  Working with children for a huge portion of my life, including conducting Story Time for a couple thousand people over the past 2 years alone, has shown me how quickly child like excitement transmits to the audience.  But it is also easy to burn out when constantly faced with the challenges of teaching children and trying to make the right choices everyday in order to "practice what.  So I took the phone call and the opportunity to meet a talented couple and learn about their creation, Clark the Shark, first hand.

I have reviewed books in the past, and had originally planned to do the same thing here after snagging my autographed copy... but plans always change, right?  I did meet Scott and Karen Lamberson with my 3 year old son in tow.  While he traumatized the office with dancing and race cars, they just smiled and shared the love behind their new endeavor into the world of children's books and ocean conservation.  Perhaps what I like most is that the Lambersons are not trained in marine biology or have spent years doing research - they are normal people who simply have a love for the ocean and all its creatures.  Sound familiar?  Why does anyone get involved in a cause these days?  Knowing this is also why so much care was taken by the authors to ensure that the "Fin Facts" in each Professor Clark book are completely accurate.  Personally, this last fact is super important to me as an environmental educator.  Plus, authors who take the time to research their facts write better stories regardless of the genre or demographic.

The creators are working with a variety of non-profit organizations as part of the mission to make a difference by inspiring the newest generation.  Both COAST Ecology and Shark Savers are already involved, but expect to see more of Professor Clark in the future (I hear from authors Scott and Karen that great things are on the horizon!).

Basically, yeah, I bought the book for myself.  I am looking forward to the next 2 books in the series (which I have already seen - how cool is THAT?!)  I highly recommend the series, particularly for kids ages 6 & up.  Toddlers will not likely sit and allow you to read each word on every page, but the illustrations are fun for them anyway. I am constantly finding my 3 year old pulling out his copy to flip through the pages and tell me what he sees.  Over the next few books, look for unique character development and the chance to meet new creatures with great interactions and an even better message.
Support the local authors in your community - you will find some real treasures I guarantee it!
-Callie Sharkey

For more information:
http://coastecology.org/
http://www.sharksavers.org/
The book is available at Barnes & Noble, and online through Professor Clark's website http://professorclark.com/ and I have learned that special color-yourself t-shirts are soon to follow!

Octonauts - Review

The past 6 months has launched my family into the world of the Octonauts, thanks to the television show now on Disney and Disney Jr., but mostly due to the passion it has inspired in my 2 yr old son.  This new avenue of preschool animation has actually been around for 2 years, and started before that as a series of children's books by Meomi (see www.meomi.com for more info). So, of course I had to start researching and our first book, purchased through www.amazon.com was the Octonauts and the Whale Shark. My son actually has a 3' plush whale shark purchased by a close friend from the Georgia Aquarium gift shop. This toy MUST accompany him every time he sees this episode.  This was his favorite episode (at first) and he would ask for it by name again and again (thank you DVR as this is not yet available on DVD!).

The most important thing to take away from the television program is perhaps the amazing "creature report" sang at the end of each 15 minute episode.  In the books, it is a "fact file" page instead, but the information is still there and shockingly accurate. I have a degree in marine biology and get annoyed when adults refer to clownfish as "Nemo-fish", so for me to say that this show is SPECTACULAR is a very big deal considering the topics and content.  My toddler was repeating words like "symbosis" after only a few episodes (that particular term came from the "Crab & Urchin" program) and absolutely knows far more species of marine animals than I did when I was 10 years old!
The books are actually at a higher level than the animated series, from an age standpoint. While a toddler will sing and dance and likely pay attention for 15 minutes, the books are not just picture books and have several sentences on each page.  This is great for 4 & 5 years olds, but less so for littler ones.  The tv shows is literally the same as the book - virtually word for word, so you are definitely giving kids a solid lesson whether they are watching the show or reading the book.

RATING: ~~~~~ (that's right, 5 out of 5!)

Except for having to order everything from the UK, and therefore waiting for weeks to get the materials, I highly recommend this book and other Octonauts books. Especially for those who have a love for the ocean, and really struggle with finding cool stuff for the children including those of friends and family members. Even a marine biologist would not be offended by the child friendly characters because of its accuracy. On another note, as an aircraft mechanic I was also very happy to see that the resident mechanic on the Octopod is Tweak, a female rabbit. Nice!

We are now moving on the action figures - who knows how that will turn out. I must wait 18-24 days for the packages to clear customs and see for myself.

Here is some general information if you want to know more:

Thie link below will take you to the general site, but you won't find merchandise here.  It does have interactive games where you can rescue animals with three of the main characters, Kwazi the former pirate cat, Peso the penguin medic, and also Captain Barnacles the polar bear. There are wallpapers and coloring pages to download/print, bios on each character, links to all sorts of octo-mania.  I will warn you that while the show is definitely for preschool age children and up, the games will definitely require some parental assistance using the arrow keys to manuever around the first times that you play. I highly recommend initially exploring this site on your own and without a little one in your lap squealing with delight every time one of the characters interacts with the viewer (they might even get a bit too excited, lean on the keyboard and then mass chaos follows when the screen disappears). You have been warned.
http://www.octonauts.com/
Speaking of octomania - the facebook page is really the way to plug yourself in directly to all the crazy Octonaut fans and families around the world. Do not expect all posts to be in english, though, because the Octonauts are published and popular in Japan, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, and more.
http://www.facebook.com/octonauts
And, yes, I "like" this page too - although you are not so likely to see me posting there (yet).

Dance with the show and your toddler, enjoy the books and read it to a child, laugh when you start finding the Octonauts everywhere you go - because I am certain this is the next Dora and Diego.

-Callie

Book Review: Over in the Ocean

Over in the Ocean In a Coral Reef is a very fun and interactive children's book written by Marianne Berkes. My first reaction was to fall absolutely in love with this book's unique pictures, which are not your traditional illustrations. They are polymer creations (think play-doh) molded into intricate and beautiful scenes. Now, let's add in a tune. The book is written to be sung along with the tune from "Over in the Meadow" that we all grew up singing.

I have sincere appreciation for the fact that the author took care to be accurate. This is one of the best books directed at very small children that will truly entertain grown ups too. And any ocean buff will get extra fun out of the book, I promise.

This children’s book is available in various sizes and paper qualities. I am currently a big fan of board books – they seem to hold up the best against my 1-yr old. If you purchase this book, be sure to flip to the back of the book for interactive tips. These are referred to as "finger-plays" directed towards infants, but that term is just creepy if you ask me.

RATING: ~~~~~ (yep, 5 out of waves) This is really all anyone could ask for in a marine animal focused children's book

If you are intrigued by this book, I can also highly recommend another Berkes's book - Over in the Jungle. This is the same format and artistic style, but with a jungle focus... I'm talking sloths and kinkajous, so it also a very unique book. Maybe she will do one with an Australian theme...?

On a side note, I started a new job recently. One of my responsibilities is actually leading story time every week for small children. Therefore, many more children's book reviews will be coming your way. This particular book is a popular favorite of both the kids and staff. So if you are hanging out in Jupiter, FL - come look me up at The River Center.

-Callie

Sea Tails - Vol. 2

Volume #2 in the Sea Tails series is Knot's New Home (2007); it is written by Sheriee Dardis, illustrated by Sean Kelly, designed by Tim Dardis, and created by all three. Keeping to a long format for a children's book, this one is 90 pages long. Sloop, the sleepy clam, is still there at natural stopping points in the story, but I definitely would not leave this book to be read by a child on their own. It is meant for adult and child to read together, and that shows in the writing and tone of the story.
Point blank, this is not Dardis' best work. Volume 2 picks up immediately after Volume 1, although there is a spoiler update on the first page to bring you up to speed or at least clue you in on what happened in the first book. Comic books do this all the time... but reading things in the order which they were written is still the best way to enjoy a series if you ask me. If you choose to explore this series, be sure to start with Vol. 1.
Knot's New Home starts out by introducing you to new "students" that will be Porthole the little loggerhead's friends at Sea School. Do not expect any character development, lest you be sorely disappointed. Tack, the red coral crab, is perhaps the most annoying character I've ever encountered in a children's book. Just giving you a heads up. I think she is meant to be comic relief, but is about as successful as Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars series. Besides... should a kid's book actually NEED comic relief? The first half of the book is a rush of meeting new animals with speedy introductions and Knot, the octopus (and also in the title), is barely in the story until the end. There isn't much of a story until the end, either.
I think the creators really want to put a moral in each story and teach kids practical lessons about respecting the oceans, I just hope they find a way to do that and still tell a good story in subsequent books. This time around, there is a snippet about boat wariness, and more regarding the dumping of trash in the oceans. I don't really know how to blend these concepts together for you, because the story itself was choppy. There is great promise in the Sea Tails series, but for Vol. 2 perhaps Dardis should either make this one smaller and focus on one thing or make the book 120 pages instead, go all out, and give the story better meaning and development. I was also a bit put off by the OCD behaviors of several characters (i.e. Tack's speech issues going back and forth as she walks back and forth, Knot's locking/unlocking of jars and windows and his constant tying/untying of tentacles like the wringing of hands).
I said not to let your little one read this alone because there are random large words used by the characters and I think this is meant to build vocabulary... but, since they never define those words outright, a grown up will need to be nearby to help the child understand what they are reading. But do not despair, Kelley still keeps the illustrations light and interesting.

RATING: ~~~ (3 out of 5 waves) worth reading... at least once

The Sea Tails creators have included a Sea Tails coloring book (2006), which features individual pictures of all the characters (many not yet introduced in the early stories) and a little factoid at the bottom of each page. Some of the different species are hard to distinguish, mostly from lack of color, but I think that would not be an issue in the story books. The pictures are fun and it seems a shame to color them only once!

RATING: ~~~~ (4 out of 5 waves) highly recommended for little kids

I'll conclude today with one of my favorite quote/summaries. Since it came from Archimedes, there is some argument as to the exact wording in English...

"Give me a staff and a place to stand and I can move the world" - Archimedes

Feel free to put THAT on your wall!
-Callie

Sea Tails Vol. 1

Since "green" is the new "black" and supporting local markets is all the rage, checking out local street festivals and events is becoming a fun and enlightening past time of mine. I came across Tim & Sean at Gumbo Limbo's Sea Turtle Day celebration a couple of years ago, and they had an entire truck (former ice cream truck maybe?) painted with the characters. It was so unique, I had to take a picture of it.
Today's focus is Porthole, the Little Loggerhead (2006) written by Sheriee Dardis, illustrated by Sean Kelly, designed by Tim Dardis, and the Sea Tails series itself was created by all three. This children's book takes a different approach with a much longer format, the book is 70 pages. It's laid out specifically for adults to read to a child in multiple sittings- which is a great way to bridge from the standard short books to more in depth books that are separated into chapters. This is also why I love the bookmark ribbon attached to the spine! Instead of chapter breaks, there is "Sloop the sleepy clam" located at the bottom corner of each page that would be a good stopping point in the story; so, you have the option of continuing without pause if desired. The pictures are fun and brightly colored too.
Now, realize the intent of this series is to introduce many characters over many books; I think they have 35 characters in all. Each of these creatures is meant to teach lessons, and in order to be relatable for children, are very human-like in attitude and language. While that does avoid a dry story, it may irritate those of us who want accuracy in all things marine... even a kid's book. But if you can enjoy the concept of young animals playing and "going to SeaSchool" together, it will make this book much more fun for you as a grownup too. Forgive those child focused traits, and it is a creative point of view that should get you and the little one(s) talking about marine life, which is really all we want anyway, right?

Check out the website: www.seatails.net to see illustrations, etc.

RATING: ~~~~ (4 out of 5 waves) highly recommended

If you had a choice, what would your kids be interested in? Dinosaurs? Snowboarding? Painting or sculpting? I want to give compliments to those parents out there who managed to support your kid in pursuing their passions... and I really give applause to those whose children actually made it into a lifelong career! I wanted to be a marine biologist since I was 10, but my mom says I wanted it even earlier than that. Just a few days ago, she read to me things I wrote about wishing I could read the minds of animals so I could talk to sharks and answer the ocean's mysteries. Whoa. Thanks, Mom.

-Callie

Perky Pelican washes ashore

Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day) and are now enjoying President's Day as well.

For this entry, I am returning to a children's book and find myself in a conundrum over whether or not to expand into more works by this particular author. Let me know what you think...
Perky Pelican: A Tale of a Lively Bird by Suzanne Tate is #18 of a 30 book "Nature Series" as she calls it. The illustrations (by James Melvin) are simple and colorful enough, although not in an Eric Carle sense. Interestingly enough, Tate also has teaching guides and sticker books available for most of her stories too; that's thinking ahead I guess. This story is about a young pelican that hatches, eventually leaves the nest, and must learn to find food for itself, er, himself. Tate has a flair for anthropomorphizing her characters in a way that pushes beyond child-like enthusiasm; compared to many of my scientifically sound friends, I am fairly forgiving in this department. Now, let's be honest... pelicans are funny birds with oddly shaped bodies and c'mon, if you've ever seen one walk, or even "run" it is down right hilarious.
On a positive note, Tate brings up some interesting things about the birds, i.e. chicks sticking their heads into their mother's mouths, the trials of a young shorebird figuring out how to dive and catch fish. As a matter of fact, the book is going on quite well until... Perky Pelican gets lazy.
[SPOILER ALERT!!] Perky decides to start mooching off of the local fishermen's bycatch and the hand feeding and begging behavior begins. I actually purchased this book to teach a class of 4-5 year olds about birds in Florida, and decided NOT to use it because of the downturn on those last several pages. I just could not get myself to pass on the bad practices encouraged by the book. If you are going to buy a kid's book to share with others, spend the extra 3 minutes to finish reading the whole thing before dropping your cash. There are too many good books out there to waste your hard earned money.

RATING: ~ (1 out of 5 waves) ouch... it had real potential and fell to disappointing lows

So here I sit all broken hearted, and wondering if I dare to give Suzanne Tate's many works another shot. I mean, she has written 29 other books, so something has got to be catching on there, right?

Enjoy your greeting card holidays whether alone or with others, and remember to always take a little time off for yourself. And if you are still sad, look on the bright side - chocolates are on sale today!

-Callie

Baby Honu strikes back

Baby Honu Saves the Day, written and illustrated by Tammy Yee. This is the 2nd book about Baby Honu; see the first Baby Honu post to learn about her style of writing.
In this adventure, Baby Honu is commissioned by Mama Dolphin (Nai'a) to save her stranded baby. The story itself is meant to teach a youngster about how even the smallest creature is still very important and can do great big things. It is a cute and somewhat touching story, but think of it in Disney terms... it is about as accurate as The Little Mermaid is compared to Finding Nemo, so don't expect this to be a biological teaching tool for little ones. Also, if you thought the 1st Baby Honu book was good for 5+ year olds, well, this book goes way beyond that. With all the Hawaiian language built in, you really do feel like you are speaking another language by the end of the book, which is kind of fun and a great cultural teaching tool.

RATING: ~~~ (3 out of 5 waves) worth reading
If you are looking for accuracy, it is not the book for your little ones. But if you want sweetness and fun illustrations, it is right on point. It is worth checking out and deciding for yourself.

Make sure to never take anything you read or see too seriously, because then you might miss out on the real fun!
-Callie

The Journey Begins...

Today Baby Jace and I decided to read a children's book called Baby Honu's Incredible Journey written and illustrated by Tammy Yee. First and foremost, there is much respect to authors who take the time to create their own illustrations. I understand, not all people are talented enough to draw (myself included), and having a "friend who can draw" is how my cousin Lane really came into his own. But the pictures are beautiful and colorful and kid friendly for the most part.
Synopsis: Baby Honu is a green sea turtle hatchling and this is the adventure of just trying to make it to the water. It truly is an incredible journey when one considers that 1:10,000 sea turtle eggs laid will become full grown adult turtles; 1:1000 reach maturity after reaching the water; the odds of survival improve to 1:100 after reaching roughly the size of a dinner plate in circumference.
... but I digress...
This book is best for children ages 5+, unless we're talking particularly bright kids with a good attention span. I only say this because many of the pages have quite a few words and lets face it, a 2-yr old (or in this case a 7 month old) is not likely to sit for it all. Jace fell asleep, which was my intention for reading to him. One really cool thing is T.Y. incorporates real Hawaiian language for many of the animals mentioned (i.e. "honu" is Hawaiian for "sea turtle"); there is a glossary in the back, but no phonetic description, so brush up on your Hawaiian before attempting to read out loud! One last warning, Baby Honu faces some very real dangers on his way to the ocean, so look thru the book before giving to a child in case they may find those parts a little scary.
RATING: ~~~~ (4 waves out of 5); highly recommended

Let me know your opinion if you have read this book. If local, I'll loan you my copy to critique.

Have a great MLK day and try not to stay dry!
-Callie