Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds: The Story of a Food Web - Softcover

Crenson, Victoria

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761455523 ISBN 13: 9780761455523

Publisher: Two Lions, 2013

Synopsis

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs crawl from the bottom of Delaware Bay to lay billions of pearly green eggs on the beaches. Their salty eggs provide a feast for scavenging coastal animals, but billions more are eaten by the flocks of shorebirds that stop to rest and feed each spring after flying north from their homes in South America. In recent years the horseshoe crab population has dwindled. In turn, the number of shorebirds that fly north each year has grown smaller. Illuminated with warm, detailed watercolors, Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds demonstrates the delicate relationship between these animals and is an excellent resource for ecology lessons, as well as a dramatic storybook for sharing.

About this title

About the Author

Author Victoria Crenson has explored the shoreline up and down the east coast of the United States from Maine to Florida. Her previous books include Birds of the World and Bay Shore Park: The Death and Life of an Amusement Park. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Illustrator Annie Cannon has illustrated a number of nature titles, including Tale of a Tadpole, The Bat in the Boot, and Ma Jiang and the Orange Ants. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. In picture-book format, this volume presents a particular food web in the Delaware Bay. The story begins with the spring journey of horseshoe crabs to mate and lay their eggs on the beach, and the parallel migration of shorebirds from South America to the Arctic, stopping to feed on the eggs. Meanwhile a peregrine falcon preys on the birds; minnows, crabs, and a heron feast on the eggs; and more birds attack stranded horseshoe crabs. Finally, some of the eggs hatch, continuing the cycle that will lead to another spring's mating, nesting, and feasting. Attractive as well as informative, Cannon's paintings offer close-up views of the action. Crenson's narrative approach will not suit every young researcher, but her text gives a good idea of how the food web operates in a specific locale. And perhaps all ecology, like all politics, is local. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Two Lions
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0761455523
• ISBN 13: 9780761455523
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Cannon Annie