Desert Beneath the Sea - Softcover

McGovern, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590426397 ISBN 13: 9780590426398

Publisher: Scholastic, 1991

Synopsis

Coral reefs are home to some of the world's most colorful and unusual plant and animal life. By comparison, the shallow, sandy bottom of the reef seems as bare and lifeless as a desert. But wait - a closer look reveals that this desert beneath the sea is actually filled with amazing and rare animals! Most of them are experts at hiding themselves in the sand or in the water so that they are nearly invisible.

Marine biologist Eugenie Clark, well known for her shark research, and underwater enthusiast, author Ann McGovern introduce young readers to jumping sand grains, long-nose sea moths, poisonous lionfish, garden eels, and many other mysterious creature that make the underwater world a fascinating place to learn about.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Chapter 1: Come to the Desert Beneath the Sea. You are gliding under water, a scuba tank on your back. You are weightless as you float along the coral reef. You marvel at the colorful corals and fish in every rainbow hue. Then you move away from the reef and swim to the shallow sandy bottom, to the desert beneath the sea.

At first, you see only barren sand, dappled by sunlight. Everywhere you look, the sand seems empty of life. Gone are the colorful corals and fishes.

You look carefully at this desert beneath the sea. You see a small pointed pebble. Wait. The pebble is really a nose with a round eye on either side of it, looking at you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see something moving in the sand. You look up to see a tail of a pale fish disappearing into the sand. You look again. There are hundreds of these fishes in the distance. And next to where you saw the pale tail disappear are many noses and eyes looking at you.

Grains of sand jump in a wild dance. Under the sand grains are tiny, tiny creatures.

The sandy area that had seemed so empty only moments before is really a world teeming with life.

In the open sand, the creatures of the undersea desert are exposed to danger. They must find ways to hide from their enemies. Some creatures fool their enemies by camouflage - skillfully blending against the background they match. Other creatures whoosh down deep into the sand. Some fish wriggle backwards into the sand. Some wriggle sideways. Certain creatures stay just below the top of the sand.

How do you know they are there? You must take the time to stop and train your eyes to notice telltale signs.

This is a book about the desert beneath the sea and how scientists study the creatures that live there.

But it is also the story of a great friendship that grew between two people who love nature. Ann McGovern introduced Eugenie Clark to the joys of writing for children. Eugenie introduced Ann to the wonders of the desert beneath the sea. We hope you like our story about these fascinating creatures we have grown to love.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590426397
• ISBN 13: 9780590426398
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48