Tiny, Essential Ocean Creatures

The Ocean's Heart: The Tiny Creatures Essential to Life 

by Jilanne Hoffmann; illus. by Khoa Le 

32 pages; ages 6-10

‎Millbrook Press, 2026

theme: ocean animals, ecology, food web

Far below the ocean’s surface live tiny, restless creatures called zooplankton. They are the ocean’s heart.

Some are so tiny that you need a microscope to see them. Others you can see with your naked eye. The one thing they have in common is they drift along with the ocean’s currents. Like other animals, zooplankton need to eat to survive, and therein lies a problem: to get food, the zooplankton need to rise to the surface where their food supply – tiny plants – thrive. But once in the light, zooplankton are visible to predators! How can these tiny critters eat without being eaten? More importantly, will any of them make it to the end of the book?

What I like love about this book: I love Jilanne’s lyrical language as she takes us on the dangerous journey zooplankton make nightly to get their dinner. And there’s the race – will they get their fill before the larger ocean animals see them and come hunting? Jilanne encourages readers to cheer for the plankton, and to celebrate their success when they make it. There are two perfectly placed book turns where we need vertical pages to see them paddling, rowing, spinning and spiraling up, up, up… and another as they make the return journey, diving and paddling down, down, down to safety. The illustrations bring these tiny creatures to life on the page. And back matter provides more information for curious kids (and adults!) who want to know more about the ocean’s food web. There’s even a list of ways you can help zooplankton! I don't usually give stars, but I'd give this one Five Copepods 

The title of this book is so intriguing that I just had to ask Jilanne One Question:

Me: Can you tell us how you came to view the zoo plankton as the "ocean's heart"?

Jilanne: Great question! I have a tendency to think in metaphor, even when I'm not actively searching for one. My brain suddenly makes a connection and then that metaphor may trigger another one. And sometimes another. This was the case for zooplankton. I had originally written THE OCEAN'S HEART in first person POV from the perspective of the ocean, where Mama Ocean talks about her tiny ones, her children, the ones that are dear to her heart. And I kept that metaphor even as I switched to third person POV, because zooplankton not only form part of the carbon cycle (where they shuttle carbon into the deep ocean after having eating phytoplankton), but those little swimmers (defying their name, they don't just float) also circulate ocean water, sending cold water upward and warm water downward as they migrate each night. 

Scientists now believe that their movement is as important to ocean water circulation (and the circulation of nutrients) as the wind and tides, which is huge! And what does the heart do? It circulates oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body, and returns carbon dioxide to the lungs that then needs to be exhaled. So, I began thinking of phytoplankton as the ocean's lungs, absorbing that carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen to its waters and the creatures that live there. And then my mind made another leap....whales are like the ocean's muscles...because they pump iron. After eating tons upon tons of zooplankton, effectively concentrating all of the iron from zooplankton in their digestive systems, whales return it to the ocean and to other critters and phytoplankton that need it in the form of poop. The healthier the whale population, the more they pump (poop) iron, the healthier the population of phytoplankton and other critters. So, there you have it, the heart, lungs, and muscles of the ocean. An extended metaphor that will stay with me forever.

Beyond the Books:

Find out more about plankton in this video, The Secret Life of Plankton  and at Woods Hole’s website.

Compare a zooplankton’s nightly migration to your own life. Jilanne compares a zooplankton’s journey to the ocean’s surface to a human swimming 125 miles – and that’s just one way. The zooplankton have to return home, too. Every night! If you traveled 125 miles from your home, where might you end up? For me, that would be close to Russia or Norway – both towns in upstate New York!

How long would it take you to walk 125 miles? The average walking speed of an adult is around 3 miles/hour. Four, if they walk briskly. Think about how far you could walk at a time… and snack breaks. 

Jilanne is a member of the STEAM Team Books group. I reviewed her book, A River of Dust a couple years ago on this very blog. You can find out more about Jilanne and her books at her at her website jilannehoffmann.com. Folks who pre-order her book (before March 3) can get entered in a raffle for amazing prizes. You can preorder a copy here - then direct message her on IG, BlueSky, or Facebook (links at that page) to let her know you'd like to be entered in the raffle. 

 

You can find more about recently released STEM and STEAM at www.steamteambooks.com

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Squirrel Snacks

 

I've read that rosehips make great winter snacks for rabbits and squirrels. Bears, too, though I don't expect we'll see any down at the County Courthouse gardens!

Rosehips are full of vitamin C, and they may be a great source of food when other stuff is scarce. But getting to them ... that's a prickly proposition.

If there are any rosehips in your neighborhood, do you ever see squirrels or birds eating them?

Two by Blue Dot Kids

 Every now and then I run across a couple of books that incorporate STEM elements in an imaginative way. Today I’m sharing two new picture books recently released by Blue Dot Kids Press.

theme: nature, imagination, global connection

Moon Sailors

by Naomi Woodward; illus by Rachel Gregg 

32 pages; ages 3-6

Bed sheets billow in solar winds, as we cast our boat adrift…

As a fan of “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” I was captivated by the idea of “moon sailors in search of treasure…” In this imaginary journey, two children – and their cat – sail off to follow the trails of celestial snails, wake up cockles and crabs, and meet a curious cephalopod. 

What I like about this book: This is a perfect lullaby read-aloud, with a gentle, put-you-to-sleep rhythm. There are wonderful words tucked in: iridescent, tentacles… Presented as an ocean-meets-the-moon adventure, the creatures of sand and sea are anything but imaginary. If you have an opportunity to explore a sea shore or a tide pool, you may meet many of these creatures.

Together, Right Now

by Olga Fadeeva

40 pages; ages 3-7

Right now, you are reading this book. Right now, someone is eating breakfast. Right now, someone is falling asleep.

As you go about your day, doing the things you do, animals and people around the world are doing the things they do. But where they are it might be night, where you have day. They might be planting gardens while you shovel snow. 

What I like about this book: The language is lovely and invites readers to look closely at the place where they live – and then look more broadly at how others are living, from deserts to islands. I like the global connection: eight billion people and millions of species of plants and animals are all breathing and living together on this unique planet. And I like the diversity of color and texture in the artwork.

Beyond the Books:

Listen to the poem “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” and let your imagination sail with them on their journey. Draw a picture of what you might see on a journey in the night sky.

Visit an aquarium or tide pool to see some of the creatures that the moon sailors might have seen. If you can’t get to a tide pool or aquarium, you can learn about tide pool creatures at Crystal Cove State Park, California, or go on a longer (25 minute) video tour with a marine biologist.

What is it like where you live right now? Is it daytime? Night time? Summer? Winter? And what do you see when you look out a window? 

Find where you are on a globe. Now find a spot on the other side of the Earth – and look for the nearest landmass. Find out who and what lives there. If you were there right now, would it be daytime or night? Warm or cold? What would you see?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Going on a Flea hunt ...

 ... snow fleas, that is. Monday it was so warm (40oF) that I decided to check out the old oak log behind my garden. It’s covered with moss and lichens, and on Monday the snow below it was covered with snow fleas!

Seen from a couple feet away, snow fleas look like specks of pepper. 

Up close, they look like bigger specks of pepper! Unless you have a hand lens, and then you can see their legs. They have six, but they aren’t insects. And they aren’t even fleas. They’re teensy arthropods called Collembola, or springtails. They’re a whopping 1/8 inch long and have two tail-like structures that are tucked under their belly – until they release and catapult the snow flea into the air, flinging them up to 100 body lengths away. It’s a great ride with one problem – the snow fleas have no control over where they land. 

Turns out snow fleas have been around a long time, at least 400 million years. By comparison, the first dinosaur didn’t show up until 240 million years ago, writes Judy Rosovsky. Check out her article at VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.

Snow fleas have been found on Mt. Everest, so finding them in my backyard isn’t unusual. They’ve got a protein that acts as an anti-freeze to keep their cells from freezing, says Judy. And they don’t bite people – or pets. Instead, these tiny-but-mighty jumpers subsist on leaf litter, decaying plants, and fungi. 

This week, if you’ve got snow and a warm day, go on a snow flea hunt!

Music for - and with - the birds!

Today kicks off the Great Backyard Bird Count - you can find out more about that here. Meanwhile,  I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to share a book that includes birds!

Beatrice and the Nightingale 

by Patricia Newman; illus by Isabelle Follath 

48 pages; ages 6-9

‎Margaret Quinlin Books, 2026

theme: music, biography, birds

 No one knew Beatrice would make history.  

Beatrice grew up surrounded by music and learned to play instruments. When she was nine, her mother brought home a cello, and Beatrice dreamed of sharing its music with the world. And she did. Then one night when she was playing her cello in the garden, she heard a nightingale echoing the notes she played. Beatrice played some more notes, up and down the strings – and the bird followed. She wanted to share this miracle like she had shared her cello performances. And then she had an idea: broadcast her cello-nightingale duets on the radio.

What I like about this book: The language is luscious. When Patricia Newman is describing the music surrounding Beatrice, she uses similes like “Violin as lively as a butterfly.” I like how Patricia shows Beatrice figuring out how to share this miraculous musical connection with the world, and some of the logistical problems she had to overcome. And I like the back matter: a timeline of notable moments in Beatrice’s life, and a look at the early days of radio and the controversy over the recording – some people claimed it was a hoax.

Patricia has written many books about STEM topics, from picture books to YA. I wanted to know more about what drives her to write, so I asked her One Question.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing nonfiction?

Patricia: Nonfiction has the power to change people’s minds and call them to action. I love to connect readers to true nature stories with happy endings. Our news media tends to focus its energy on negative environmental headlines, and our children are listening. The people in my books, whether present-day scientists or historical figures like Beatrice Harrison, inspire hope in readers. In Beatrice and the Nightingale, Beatrice celebrated birds through her musical gift. But she didn’t stop there. She shared her passion with the world, and by doing so, connected millions of people to the miracle of nature. I call Beatrice and the Nightingale a Teach the Hope book.

Beyond the Books:

Come up with some similes to compare the sound of a musical instrument to something in nature. Patricia Newman used “violon as lively as a butterfly” in her story.

Spend time listening to one kind of bird. Try to learn one of its songs. If you play a musical instrument (like a recorder) try to repeat the bird song on that. Then sing – or play – the bird song you learned outside. How do the birds respond? I used to play loon calls on my recorder, and the loons would sing back to me!

When you listen to birds singing, how does it make you feel? If you don’t have any songbirds around, you can listen to a nightingale here. Try to capture how the birdsong makes you feel by painting or drawing or writing poetry or moving…

Patricia is a member of the STEAM Team Books group. You can find out more about her at her at her website www.patriciamnewman.com. You can find more about recently released STEM and STEAM at www.steamteambooks.com

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Three Ways of Looking at a Tree

 This week take your camera or a sketch pad outdoors with you and spend a few moments looking at trees. It should be a bit warmer, so you can actually spend some time observing things in nature!

Look at a tree from a distance.

What do you notice about its shape?

What do you notice about the way its branches come off the trunk?

Get closer.

What do you notice about the bark?

About the twigs?

About buds?

What do you notice about tree shadows?

What Happens when a Lake Disappears?

The Vanishing Sea: The Tale of How the Aral Sea Became the Aral Desert 

by Dinara Mirtalipova 

40 pages; ages 5-8

Chronicle Books, 2026   

theme: ecology, water, nonfiction

 A long, long time ago, there was a lake so vast that the people called her MOTHER SEA.

This lake, called the Aral Sea, sits between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It was formed by glaciers melting after the last ice age and for centuries it provided the people with fish to eat and water to drink. 

The people flourished. Villages grew into towns, which became cities. The people grew crops. “Like a selfless mother, the sea gave them ALL of her resources,” writes Dinara Mirtalipova. Until there came a time when she had no more to give.

What I like about this book: The spare text, paired with the folk-art illustrations clearly shows how the people’s desire for more riches killed the very thing that gave them life: Mother Sea. Two wordless pages show irrigation of cotton crops, and exporting it away from the community. 

I like that it’s a true story that also serves as a parable. And I like the back matter, which begins with an author’s note about her personal connection to the area, and the intensive cotton cultivation that drained the lake, Another spread provides a timeline of the history if the Aral Sea, from 17,000 years ago to present. Another section dives into the local and global ecological impact of the desertification of the Aral Sea.

Beyond the Books:

Check out what the Aral desert (previously lake) looks like from space at NASA website.

Turn your bedroom into the Aral Sea. Before the irrigation project in 1960, the Aral Sea was home to more than 20 different kinds of fish. Make as many different kinds of fish as you can, and hang them by threads from your ceiling so they look like they are swimming. Here are some ideas for different kinds of fish you can make.

After 10 days, take down half of the fish. How does your lake feel?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ almost a leaf skeleton

 Beech trees are notorious for hanging on to some of their dead leaves all winter. That trait is called marcescence (mar-SES-ents) . Beech trees do it; so do oaks. When I walk along the road on a windy day, I can hear the beech leaves rattle and shake. The other day I took a closer look at one of the beech leaves. It looked a bit like a stained glass window, but without colored glass.

Next time you're out walking 

look for leaves lingering on limbs. Notice their shape and color, whether they have jaggedy edges, and what kind of tree they are on.