Tiny Floating Coral (Start Small, Think Big, Bk. 3)

Follow the life cycle of a tiny coral planula and learn the broader impact of coral reefs on the health of our oceans

Tiny Floating Coral starts small with a tiny coral planula floating through the ocean in a soup of plankton, looking for the perfect place to settle, divide, and grow. It finds a place on a healthy reef off the coast of Australia. Learn about the remarkable life of coral, how it feeds, starts a colony and becomes a part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef—a vast underwater city where other animals live, feed, hide, and bring up their young. The story’s narrative progresses in a way that builds understanding, and the delicate illustrations bring the story to life. Thinking BIG, the book highlights that 25 percent of marine life relies on the world’s coral reefs, and the big foldout map shows where they can be found. There is also an illustrated life cycle, and a Reef I-Spy to take children back into the book to deepen the learning experience. The books features a large foldout illustration on the final pages and a die-cut hole, highlighting the coral, on the front cover.

Mary Auld is an award-winning author for children. She writes on music, art, and science, and hopes to inspire young readers with her own enthusiasm and passion for these subjects. Her latest book, Masterpieces in Pieces, was shortlisted for the UK School Library Association Information Book Award 2023. How to Build an Orchestra, produced in association with the London Symphony Orchestra, gave rise to a spin-off series that started with A Little Book of the Orchestra: The Violin. She divides her time between Nottinghamshire, England, and France. La Scarlatte creates delicate hand-drawn botanical and animal designs. Her detailed compositions are used for advertising, package, products, textiles, and books. Tiny Floating Coral is her first children's book. She lives in the Netherlands with a curious toddler, an Italian partner, and a red-haired cat. Visit her at lascarlatte.com