The second non-fiction book in my MG holiday gift guide takes us out to sea. Open this book on your lap for a journey unlike none other. It begins as you climb aboard the research vessel, Meteor, where you take a ride on a submersible to the ocean’s floor. You’ll be awestruck looking at sea life you’ve never seen before.

Filled with full page oil paintings and concise text, each page gives the most up to date facts on what we know about this mysterious part of our world. A sampling of the creatures living in the dark include Comb Jellies, Firefly Squid, and one of the strangest, a siphonophor (described as  a mass of shimmering pearls, some reaching 131 feet long).

There also many you would not want to come face to face with—except of course in this book. The Ribbon Sawtail Fish, The Vampire Squid, and the Hatchetfish are sure to enthrall and mesmerize the curious.

The authors also include a warning, reminding us the oceans are in danger. Our use of plastics is killing 100,000 marine animals and sea birds each year.

Into the Deep would make a great gift for the sea loving young person in your life. It may inspire them to become the next generation of oceanographers. Here’s the official background:

Immerse yourself in a strange and beautiful world as you journey from the beach to the depths of the ocean floor.

Beneath the surface of the ocean lies a mysterious and astounding world that few people ever get to see. This book merges breathtaking art with the latest scientific research to take readers on a fantastic voyage on the submarine Marine Snow, where they meet blue whales, vampire squid, viper fish, and a giant sea spider. They’ll learn about bioluminescence, Radiolaria, and coral reefs, discovering incredible facts about the marine world. Annika Siems’s illustrations vibrate with color and detail, even as they convey the mystery of a place with scant natural light. From the smallest plankton magnified by thousands, to the most enormous whale, captured on a single page, the sea’s denizens are recreated with spectacular precision and artistry. Marine biologist Wolfgang Dreyer’s text brings the ocean to life–whether he’s describing a transparent jellyfish or the way colors disappear from view as you descend to the ocean floor. A feast for the eye and the mind, this stunning book helps us comprehend a massive, mostly unfamiliar part of our world–one that flourishes with life and beauty.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ANNIKA SIEMS is an award-winning artist and illustrator. The pictures in this book are oil paintings , some in a really large format which were photographed.

DR. WOLFGANG DREYER served as director of eh Zoological Museum at Kiel University in Germany for two decades. He has written nearly thirty books o marine biology.

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Coming up next Monday is another edition of…