Wow! Ocean!

by Robert Neubecker

Sea Stars! Anemones! Sharks! Whales! The ocean is filled with exciting things and Izzy and her sister are determined to explore every bit of it! From beach to tide pools to murky depths—every creature is uncovered in full vibrant color and labeled clearly to help explorers identify their discoveries on future journeys.
A great book for any reader who wants to wiggle their toes in the sand or dive right into the deep!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Juvenile, Science

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2011

About the author

Robert Neubecker is the award-winning author-illustrator of Wow! City! and Wow! Ocean! He has illustrated many other books for young readers. His work has been published by Slate, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. He lives in Park City, Utah, with his family.

Reviews

[Muskingum County Library System · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shared this book in Toddler Storytime once and the little ones were practically climbing over me (and each other) to point out all of the different things in the pictures--even the shy kids! This book is great for practicing the early literacy practice of simply reading with your child and helping him or develop recommended to share for a storytime or one-on-one. I'd also recommend this author/illustrator's other books (Wow!City!; Wow! America!; etc.) if they elicit the same kind of response. _ Jen H.

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, colorful illustrations. A couple of them are three page spreads. Visually appealing to my 2 yr old, but a little busy. Lots and lots of sea creatures illustrated and labeled with their common names; too bad they did not have any seahorses (my little one loves those). Also, can be used as a seek-and-find book, which my daughter loves! Each page has scuba divers and a hidden crab that she'll try to find. Got this book to compliment our toddler ocean study. Very little "story" text, but still a bit complex for her.

[Jannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is best read doing an impression of Owen Wilson.

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to youtube and look up "owen wilson wow" for a compilation of all his various WOWs)

One toddler during my storytime got really upset at the spread with the anglerfish, so be aware that some of the images might be too intense for some little ones.

Otherwise, super simply-worded book but fun illustrations.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful yet potentially overwhelming illustrations. There's just ALOT going on. I did like that they put them name of each fish, dolphin, whale, etc. on each animal. That made it very easy to identify each one. One thing about this book, you will most certainly get tired of saying "WOW...! 17 times total.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a 4-year-old, I'm really curious about animals, so even though this book doesn't have much text, I was still really interested in it. I've learned about a lot of the creatures mentioned in the book from the show Octonauts, so I liked making connections with what I already knew.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a lot of fun illustrations with all the animals marked with names. Other than that, however, it is so annoying to read. The only words on each two page spread are, "Wow! Dolphins! [or whales, beach, etc]". Ugh.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a book to read right before bed when the kids are looking for ways to delay sleep.

[Sarah's Storytime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Baby Lapsit - but lots going on in the pictures. Perhaps overwhelming.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for whipping up enthusiasm for a trip to the beach, but good luck getting them in the water after seeing all the creatures sharing the water with them....

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple read, just Wow and the names of things in the ocean. Very big bright pictures, but maybe a little on the busy side. Might try with toddlers.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Ocean! by Robert Neubecker follows Izzy the mountain girl as she and her family vacation at the ocean.

The text is minimal with "Wow!" followed by the subject of a two or three page spread. Many of the animals and plants have their name written on them or nearby.

The colorful illustrations are definitely the stars of this book. Among the subjects shown are shells, a tide pool, fish, rays, whales, sharks, jellyfish, denizens of the deep, coral reefs, dolphins, anemone, turtles, a sunken ship and the ocean. There are a couple three page foldouts. The labeling is readable yet not the center of attention. You may notice the dog pursuing a crab through much of the book. The children are pictured near or among the objects. My favorite images include the shells, the tide pool, the whales, the Deep, the coral reef, and the sunken ship.

This book should fascinate children. While it could be used as a chant-aloud for toddlers or preschoolers, it would best be poured over individually so the details can be studied, savoured and reread. Wow! Oceans! belongs in school and public library collections.

For ages 5 to 8, oceans, summer, beach, animals, sea-life, vacation, and fans of Robert Neubecker.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Ocean! by Robert Neubecker caught my attention both for it's enthusiastic title as well as its ocean setting.

The book opens with Izzy and her family traveling from the mountains to the beach for a day of fun. Then the book settles into page after page of the basic different things of the ocean, each introduced with "Wow!" For example: "Wow! Fish!" and "Wow! Whales!"

For children in preschool through about first grade, the Wow! text is perfect. It gets across basic concepts: fish, coral reef, sunken ship, whales, and so forth while drawing the eye in with colorful and complex illustrations.

For older children in the second through fourth grade level, there are labels for most of the things in the illustrations. For example, all the fish are labeled on the "Wow! Fish!" page.

The book was a huge hit with both of my children and we had to read each and every label. Both children then took a turn re-reading the book.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not what I had thought it would be. Lots to see on every page, which makes this best as a read-alone (for school-age) or lap-read. Not so great for storytimes unless you have a small group that can sit close and have a good look at everything in the illustrations. The labels for the various creatures were not always easily seen. But I learned a couple of names for things I did not know before. I was very happy that there was a whole page for dolphins and turtles, even if only one kind of each animal was mentioned. Fun to see the little girls in each spread. Lots to keep the mind busy, and great for those interested in sea stuff or creatures in general.

I do wonder how a blond and red-head came from dark-haired parents....

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just shared this book with a group of 2- and 3-year-olds this morning and they loved it! I have been presenting Toddler Storytime for a few years and have never seen such a reaction to a book! They were practically climbing over me (and each other) to point out all of the different things in the pictures--even the shy kids! The theme for today's storytime was "A Whale of a Tale" and I was also talking about the early literacy practice of reading with your child and how that helps develop print awareness, print motivation, and letter knowledge. Highly recommended to share for a storytime or one-on-one. I'd also recommend this author/illustrator's other books (Wow!City!; Wow! America!; etc.) if they elicit the same kind of response.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this in the lapsit storytime - and it was a success! The pictures are vibrant and big and the text simple and repetitive. I also chose to point out a few ocean animals and terminology to strengthen vocabulary. My 3 year old spent a lot of time with it and we learned all sorts of names for the different sea creatures. I think I remember looking at a few of his other "Wow!" books but I'm going to have to revisit them!

[Christine Turner]

Sea Stars! Anemones! Sharks! Whales! The ocean is filled with exciting things and Izzy and her sister are determined to explore every bit of it! From beach to tide pools to murky depths-every creature is uncovered in full vibrant color and labeled clearly to help explorers identify their discoveries on future journeys.
A great book for any reader who wants to wiggle their toes in the sand or dive right into the deep!

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Izzy the mountain girl goes on another adventure...this time to the beach. Bright and bold illustrations will occupy an ocean lover for hours. These titles aren't so much ones to share with a group as to purchase or check out for one child to spend hours pouring over. My ocean fan was hard pressed to let this one go.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has great illustrations and minimal text- it's mostly to learn about the names of ocean creatures. My son (and I) really likes looking at it over and over. The only thing I don't like are the fold-out pages-- they get bent and mangled so easily with small kids... We also like trying to find the sisters and the dog on every page :)

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

July 2015 - a hit at toddler storytime and at home - read on repeat, Ben loved to find the crab and dog on each page.

July 2016 - this year Ben is more interested in the names of the different sea creatures, and their different features, and he doesn't need as much help spotting the dog and crab.

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally believe that all WOW books which are wittten by Robert Neubecker are wonderful books for children. In this book the pictures and the animales are depict in amazing way. As a teacher, I can teach young learners about the ocean and its animals.

[Kate McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these "Wow" books by Neubecker and not just because they star an Izzy. WOW Ocean is the best one so far. The detail illustrations of the undersea world are amazing. Don't forget to find the dog on each page.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely done, and very informative around all things "ocean." Each two-page spread highlights a different facet of ocean exploration (e.g., whales, sharks, coral reef). Details about particular species, etc. are written in tiny print around the related artwork. Colorful and fun book to look through.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to look at the detail of various species of fish and mammals that live in the ocean. Two page spread illustrations as well as some three page spreads. I love how all of the page is filled with illustration just like a painting.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are the kind that I could look at over and over again. Can you find the doggie on every page? Can you identify all the sea life on each page? Beautiful colors and lots to talk about with young readers!

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a work of quiet genius. It exactly mirrors how children approach the wonders they see in the world. Nicely labelled, vibrantly drawn. Very engaging. You'll be googling for answers to their questions in no time.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting way of continuing the Wow! theme through the pages. More information arises with multiple reads. Once will not be enough.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW! Great illustrations.

[Wendy Kuzma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be a good one for Toddler Time. Kids could say the repeating "Wow" along with the story.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice illustrations in this one! I like the vibrant colors, as well as the labels on many of the underwater animals. Well done!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful fun illustrations with names to all of the creatures!