Follow a gray seal on a journey from sand to sea in an engaging, richly illustrated story with surefire kid appeal.
On the shore, a seal looks like a slow, dozy creature that spends its time lazing around or flumping along the sand. But underwater, it’s a different story. Splash! Seal dives deep, with a body just the right shape to shoot through the water and power down with his back flippers. He slips through a seaweed forest, and — sensing a predator nearby — dives even deeper to stay safe. Finally it’s time to make a sudden twist and turn to catch his fishy dinner. Merging a lyrical narrative sprinkled with fascinating facts and aww-inspiring illustrations, here is one nature adventure that’s hard to resist. Back matter includes an index.
Chris Butterworth is the author of more than seventy nonfiction books for children, including Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea and How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food. She lives in England.
Kate Nelms graduated from the University of the West of England with a BA in illustration. See What a Seal Can Do is her first book. She lives in England.
The beautifully colored, full-spread illustrations portray the seal’s transformation from awkward land dweller to sinuous and powerful denizen of the deep. The below-water scenes masterfully evoke the murky ocean habitat and the singular seal’s steep descent to the bottom. From the irresistible cover to the closing “super-swimming underwater wonder,” the book will encourage readers to dive right in and see what a seal can do. —School Library Journal (starred review)
Debut illustrator Nelms’s naturalistic mixed-media spreads feature a light-infused garden of sea grasses and coral; readers should find the seal, with his marbled gray skin and soulful, puppylike expression to be irresistible. —Publishers Weekly
[I]mpressively illustrated... Textured, realistic-looking mixed-media illustrations in aqua or sandy hues show the creature at home in both of its natural habitats, gracefully shooting through the water and “flumping” along on land. An author’s note on the copyright page tells more about wild seals; illustrations of the eighteen types of “true seals” appear on the front and back endpapers. —The Horn Book
'See What a Seal Can Do' is almost as good as swimming alongside a friendly seal, and you won’t have to put on a wet suit. —The New York Times Online
Follow a gray seal on a journey from sand to sea in an engaging, richly illustrated story with surefire kid appeal.
On the shore, a seal looks like a slow, dozy creature that spends its time lazing around or flumping along the sand. But underwater, it’s a different story. Splash! Seal dives deep, with a body just the right shape to shoot through the water and power down with his back flippers. He slips through a seaweed forest, and — sensing a predator nearby — dives even deeper to stay safe. Finally it’s time to make a sudden twist and turn to catch his fishy dinner. Merging a lyrical narrative sprinkled with fascinating facts and aww-inspiring illustrations, here is one nature adventure that’s hard to resist. Back matter includes an index.
Creators
Chris Butterworth is the author of more than seventy nonfiction books for children, including Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea and How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food. She lives in England.
Kate Nelms graduated from the University of the West of England with a BA in illustration. See What a Seal Can Do is her first book. She lives in England.
The beautifully colored, full-spread illustrations portray the seal’s transformation from awkward land dweller to sinuous and powerful denizen of the deep. The below-water scenes masterfully evoke the murky ocean habitat and the singular seal’s steep descent to the bottom. From the irresistible cover to the closing “super-swimming underwater wonder,” the book will encourage readers to dive right in and see what a seal can do. —School Library Journal (starred review)
Debut illustrator Nelms’s naturalistic mixed-media spreads feature a light-infused garden of sea grasses and coral; readers should find the seal, with his marbled gray skin and soulful, puppylike expression to be irresistible. —Publishers Weekly
[I]mpressively illustrated... Textured, realistic-looking mixed-media illustrations in aqua or sandy hues show the creature at home in both of its natural habitats, gracefully shooting through the water and “flumping” along on land. An author’s note on the copyright page tells more about wild seals; illustrations of the eighteen types of “true seals” appear on the front and back endpapers. —The Horn Book
'See What a Seal Can Do' is almost as good as swimming alongside a friendly seal, and you won’t have to put on a wet suit. —The New York Times Online
