Topic: Oceans & Seas (KS2)

“This is Planet Earth: A beautiful blue marble suspended in a sea of stars. Unlike billions of other planets in the Milky Way, 71 percent of Earth is covered by ocean.” In collaboration with BBC Earth and based on the Blue Planet II TV series, this illustrated non-fiction book is designed to help children to dive into the beautiful wilderness beneath the waves and to emphasise the unique importance of ocean life to our planet.

The book is structured as a journey through different ocean settings – starting with The Deep, where we meet the weirdest and most wonderful creatures that look like something from a sci-fi movie but are – the book assures – as real as you or me. From there we move through shimmering coral reefs, to learn about the secret coral cities in shallow, tropical waters that are filled with a delicate ecosystem like no other. The next section covers ‘green seas’ – so-called due to the underwater forests and seagrass meadows that populate them. Interestingly, these areas form some of the most crowded underwater worlds and together they help to feed marine life across our blue planet. Here the book cleverly draws out the interdependent nature of the vastly varied but thoroughly interconnected parts of our blue planet. The author calls these green areas the ‘superheroes’ of the sea, and emphasises that, just like our forests on land, these precious ecosystems need our protection. After this we visit the world of coastlines, where human and ocean worlds collide and the theme of environmental protection is further drawn out. The final stop of the ocean tour is the big blue outback – an oceanic desert that is seemingly empty but is the home to majestic giants like sperm whales and great white sharks. The book ends with a call to action – a plea for ocean heroes to safeguard our seas by heeding the advice of scientists and taking everyday actions that can help to protect our Blue Planet.

With a foreword from David Attenborough and beautiful illustrations by Emily Dove, this informative book offers a fascinating insight into the wonder and fragility of the oceans.