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Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed The Seas
Acclaimed Caldecott artist Molly Bang paints a stunning, sweeping view of our ever-changing oceans.
In this timely book, award-winner Molly Bang uses her signature poetic language and dazzling illustrations to introduce the oceanic world. From tiny aquatic plants to the biggest whale or fish, Bang presents a moving, living picture of the miraculous balance sustaining each life cycle and food chain deep within our wondrous oceans.
On land or in the deep blue sea, we are all connected--and we are all a part of a grand living landscape. Co-authored by award-winning M.I.T. professor Penny Chisholm, a leading expert on ocean science, OCEAN SUNLIGHT is packed with clear, simple science. This informative, joyous book will help children understand and celebrate the astonishing role our oceans play in human life.
In this timely book, award-winner Molly Bang uses her signature poetic language and dazzling illustrations to introduce the oceanic world. From tiny aquatic plants to the biggest whale or fish, Bang presents a moving, living picture of the miraculous balance sustaining each life cycle and food chain deep within our wondrous oceans.
On land or in the deep blue sea, we are all connected--and we are all a part of a grand living landscape. Co-authored by award-winning M.I.T. professor Penny Chisholm, a leading expert on ocean science, OCEAN SUNLIGHT is packed with clear, simple science. This informative, joyous book will help children understand and celebrate the astonishing role our oceans play in human life.
48 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
February 5, 2013
I deliberately read this the same day, immediately after reading Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring The Earth To Life; that book was published in 2009 and this book was published in 2012.
This book is structured the same as the above-mentioned book. The bulk of the book consists of gorgeous illustrations with information provided by the sun as narrator. Some of the information is rather sophisticated and I think better suited toward older elementary school children. That’s particularly true of the final 4 pages, which are illustrated but consist mostly of text with more in depth information.
As with the other book, I really enjoyed the pictures (in this book especially of those creatures deep under the sea) but didn’t get that engaged with the way the (admittedly interesting) information was presented. I admire what was done here and feel guilty that I didn’t get more engaged with the book/these books. Perhaps it’s my mood (I’m reading under unpleasant circumstances: loud and annoying noises, second hand smoke, etc.) as others have been more wowed than I.
This book is structured the same as the above-mentioned book. The bulk of the book consists of gorgeous illustrations with information provided by the sun as narrator. Some of the information is rather sophisticated and I think better suited toward older elementary school children. That’s particularly true of the final 4 pages, which are illustrated but consist mostly of text with more in depth information.
As with the other book, I really enjoyed the pictures (in this book especially of those creatures deep under the sea) but didn’t get that engaged with the way the (admittedly interesting) information was presented. I admire what was done here and feel guilty that I didn’t get more engaged with the book/these books. Perhaps it’s my mood (I’m reading under unpleasant circumstances: loud and annoying noises, second hand smoke, etc.) as others have been more wowed than I.
February 13, 2017
I hope this one at least wins a Sibert Medal this January! It's another excellent book about light, this time about how light "powers" the food chain in the ocean, from the tiny plankton to the whales. Between the text and the gorgeous pictures the concepts presented are clearly explained. I learned a few things myself. Imagine--half the oxygen produced on earth comes from phytoplankton in the sea! That's a HUGE reason not to pollute our oceans. At the end of the book Molly Bang provides further information about each concept presented, in anticipation of questions the text might have generated. This book is a companion to My Light, which began the series on light, and Living Sunlight, which is the next book by her that I have to read. Highly recommended!
October 18, 2023
Interesting book. Like the use of personification that can help show how everything is tied together.
January 19, 2013
Very well told story about how phytoplankton are the starting point for the chain of life in the seas. My niece was particularly interested in this book, and was quite taken aback to learn that the "green" in our seas is everywhere (in the form of phytoplankton). Both children were completely disgusted by marine snow (my nephew exclaimed, "WHAT?! There's poop in it?! Fish eat other fishes' poop?! That's disgusting!! WHO WROTE THIS BOOK?!"). I, however, was quite pleased that the author didn't sugar coat what marine snow is comprised of, because I know that single fact will stick with the kids. Because that fact will stick with them, the rest of the facts in this book will necessarily have to be called to mind, as well. Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm did an excellent job with this book, and I'm just not sure the story of phytoplankton could have been told to kids any better than they told it.
June 4, 2012
As in the case of their earlier title, Living Sunlight, this terrific team simplifies in easy-to-grasp concepts the science link between the sun and the oceans. Back matter includes thumbnail sketches that expand on the information provided in the narrative. The text and lushly detailed illustrations make it very clear that there is plenty of green even in the deep blue ocean. This is science for children at its best. Gosh! How I wish books such as this one existed when I was young.
March 28, 2013
I could have used this book years ago when we were doing an inquiry project on oceans, and we could hardly find anything on plankton. This is a great book for making single-celled phytoplankton into an interesting thing to look at and think about.
This book reminds me of Virginia Lee Burton's Life Story in its storytelling and composition style. It emphasizes the beauty of the life cycles and the organisms themselves, but without making them cute or non-dangerous.
This book also has the extended 'fact section' at the end where the storytelling voice is broken and shifts straight to an informational text structure for 2-3 pages. Lu Benke was wondering yesterday what practical needs editors and publishers might have for insisting on this section at the end of these books. This book is cowritten by a biologist, so there's some reputability to the science. But the fact that the book presents no sources is a liability--minimally on its credibility, but more so on its usefulness in inquiry. If there's a scientist on board, can't she show us what some of the best sources are for further exploration of plankton?
This book reminds me of Virginia Lee Burton's Life Story in its storytelling and composition style. It emphasizes the beauty of the life cycles and the organisms themselves, but without making them cute or non-dangerous.
This book also has the extended 'fact section' at the end where the storytelling voice is broken and shifts straight to an informational text structure for 2-3 pages. Lu Benke was wondering yesterday what practical needs editors and publishers might have for insisting on this section at the end of these books. This book is cowritten by a biologist, so there's some reputability to the science. But the fact that the book presents no sources is a liability--minimally on its credibility, but more so on its usefulness in inquiry. If there's a scientist on board, can't she show us what some of the best sources are for further exploration of plankton?
June 18, 2012
When I taught 5th grade, one of our science units was about the oceans. My students learned about food systems, the ocean zones and floor, and animal adaptations. My students didn't really know very much about oceans before I began the unit and it was so much fun to introduce them to so much new information.
That's a long introduction to help explain why I like this book so much. It's the perfect science read aloud for an ocean unit for students in grades 3 - 5. The information is accurate, beautifully illustrated, and builds logically from simple to complicated ideas. With the sun as a narrator, Chisholm and Bang describe the important role of phytoplankton in ocean ecology.
Highly recommended as a nonfiction text. A great text to recommend to teachers as a nonfiction read aloud.
That's a long introduction to help explain why I like this book so much. It's the perfect science read aloud for an ocean unit for students in grades 3 - 5. The information is accurate, beautifully illustrated, and builds logically from simple to complicated ideas. With the sun as a narrator, Chisholm and Bang describe the important role of phytoplankton in ocean ecology.
Highly recommended as a nonfiction text. A great text to recommend to teachers as a nonfiction read aloud.
June 29, 2016
Much like the work of Gail Gibbons, this Sunlight Series does an AMAZING job of making nonfiction topics relatable and interesting. Told as more of a narrative than your typical nonfiction book, with some information coming straight from the sun's perspective, it is likely to engage readers who may find nonfiction books boring or uninteresting. The gorgeous full color illustrations are comforting and warm, but do a great job of presenting important pieces about ocean plants and animals, and how all life comes back to dependence on the energy from the sun. While I have yet to read this book in a classroom setting, I anticipate collecting the whole series and using it to teach about the suns importance and ocean plants more specifically. Last year we learned about biotic and abiotic factors and I think this is exactly the kind of book that will lend itself to our science studies.
June 26, 2012
Following her Living Sunlight book, this continues the story of how the sun makes life on earth possible. Here, the focus is on the ocean and the role that sunlight plays even in the darkest depths of the sea. The story starts with photosynthesis and food chains on dry land, then moves to the water. Bang asks where the green plants in the ocean are except for the seaweed. Then she shows the tiny phytoplankton that make up the plants of the sea. The food chain is shown and the book then turns to the darkness of the deep and how the food chain works even in blackness. It is beautiful science.
Read the rest of my review on my blog, Waking Brain Cells.
Read the rest of my review on my blog, Waking Brain Cells.
July 4, 2013
Amazing things can happen when an award-winning artist collaborates with a respected subject-specialist. Once again this team gives readers a visual and scientific treat. Ocean food chains have never been seen like this before and readers will never underestimate the role of phytoplankton in it. The authors steer clear of a heavy-handed ecological lesson but their notes at the end provide further detail on specific creatures and aspects of the topic that were avoided or brushed over. These end notes will take readers back for another look and then send them off for more information on a fascinating and vital topic.
Bang's illustrations use a limited palette of mostly blue and yellow but the results are stunning and shimmer on the page like water reflecting the sunlight.
Bang's illustrations use a limited palette of mostly blue and yellow but the results are stunning and shimmer on the page like water reflecting the sunlight.
June 17, 2012
The sun feeds green plants, which in turn feed animals on land, creating a food chain. But what about animals in the oceans? Invisible pastures of phytoplankton! Accessible language is paired with brightly colored illustrations to present the complexities of the ocean food chain in a very kid-friendly way. Great for units on the ocean, food chains, or the environment. Pair it with Loree Griffin Burns' excellent TRACKING TRASH for an even more thorough understanding about why polluting our oceans is a terrible idea.
January 7, 2013
Excellent book - it uses reader-friendly language and examples, yet does not "talk down" to children about how the sun fuels life on Earth - on land and in the sea. Besides the wonderful text, the illustrations are magnificent and the back matter provides plenty of extra information for curious readers.
May 30, 2012
Spectacular illustrations and excellent information about the ocean food chain.
October 1, 2012
Gorgeous and handles a very sophisticated concept well for young readers.
January 19, 2023
Packed with information for our current science study, but also a good read-aloud. Gorgeous pictures, too.
January 28, 2022
Text-to Teaching Connection
This is such a wonderful book to read to incorporate a science lesson from. This book explains how the plants in the ocean live because of the sun. I would give each student two paper cups with a quick growing plant potted inside. I would ask them to place one cup in a dark room and the other in the sunlight on a windowsill. Each student needs to water both flowers throughout the week. After a week has passed, I would get the children to bring over both their plants and ask them to evaluate the two. I would then explain that the plant had a sunlight deficiency while in the dark room so therefore photosynthesis wasn’t possible and as a result the plant looks limp and is dying. The plant that has been in the sunlight would be alive. I also think this a good activity for students to journal about their findings each day.
This is such a wonderful book to read to incorporate a science lesson from. This book explains how the plants in the ocean live because of the sun. I would give each student two paper cups with a quick growing plant potted inside. I would ask them to place one cup in a dark room and the other in the sunlight on a windowsill. Each student needs to water both flowers throughout the week. After a week has passed, I would get the children to bring over both their plants and ask them to evaluate the two. I would then explain that the plant had a sunlight deficiency while in the dark room so therefore photosynthesis wasn’t possible and as a result the plant looks limp and is dying. The plant that has been in the sunlight would be alive. I also think this a good activity for students to journal about their findings each day.
April 23, 2013
What a rich book! Rich in illustration, in information, and in ways of looking at our world. Because of the first person voice, it felt like someone who knew a lot about ecological systems handed us some insights best seen from the vantage point of the solar system. It would have been a great book to share in a storytime or classroom yesterday--Earth Day. The way the bright yellow of the sun is repeated throughout the book keeps the message of its role in our minds. (Still, I was a bit uncomfortable with the almost reverent tone given to the sun's voice at times. I wanted Leonard Nimoy's voice, perhaps?) The beautiful dark blue background to the drama of one ferocious looking fish consuming another will grab a lot of young readers and make them want to go back to get more from this book. I don't usually notice fonts, but where the background was light, the fonts had black edging that really made that text pop. The journey of inquiry that the author takes us on was close enough to my own wonderings that I truly did want to know the answer to the next question that came up. I was finding the illustrations so alive that when it came to describing the deep currents that drove the marine snow to the surface, I expected to be able to click on a hyperlink and see action deeper than the page could provide. In the six pages of the notes at the end of the book, the author refers to the exceptions that couldn't be covered in the book but that would be good to explore further. Great way to bridge to more information! But, the extra information went on too long for the hard-to-read formatting of the notes with two text-heavy columns. Maybe a sequel with more of those fantastic illustrations?
October 16, 2018
Summary:
Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas, is a childrens nonfiction book about ocean life. It is full of simple facts for students to learn about. The book talks about tiny plants that make up the ocean and all of the animals that these plants feed. The words are short and sweet on the pages and written in poem like format. The book provides very detailed illustrations on each page. The book builds off of each page describing how each thing in the Ocean affects something else.
Evaluation:
This was a great short, nonfiction book. I liked it becasue it was not super lengthy, which can sometimes turn students awat from reading. The words per page were rather short. The information that the book gives is also very kid friendly. The book provides these wonderful illustrations on each page that describe the words so well. The pictures give you a three dimensional like view.
Teaching Idea:
There are many teaching ideas that come to mind for this book. The teaching idea that comes to mind for me is reading this book aloud while talking about habitats. This is a standard for third grade. It would be a great way to introduce this habitat to the students. The teacher could write down facts the students found interesitng on an anchor chart. Students could also use this book for their own resource if they were reseaarching this habitat. Students could put sticky notes on interesting facts.
Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas, is a childrens nonfiction book about ocean life. It is full of simple facts for students to learn about. The book talks about tiny plants that make up the ocean and all of the animals that these plants feed. The words are short and sweet on the pages and written in poem like format. The book provides very detailed illustrations on each page. The book builds off of each page describing how each thing in the Ocean affects something else.
Evaluation:
This was a great short, nonfiction book. I liked it becasue it was not super lengthy, which can sometimes turn students awat from reading. The words per page were rather short. The information that the book gives is also very kid friendly. The book provides these wonderful illustrations on each page that describe the words so well. The pictures give you a three dimensional like view.
Teaching Idea:
There are many teaching ideas that come to mind for this book. The teaching idea that comes to mind for me is reading this book aloud while talking about habitats. This is a standard for third grade. It would be a great way to introduce this habitat to the students. The teacher could write down facts the students found interesitng on an anchor chart. Students could also use this book for their own resource if they were reseaarching this habitat. Students could put sticky notes on interesting facts.
September 26, 2013
Education is vastly underrated in America. It's probably the sheer amount we're expected to learn, in comparison to the grade school aged baby boomers. But, hey, that's rationalization. People know stuff, and they know stuff they're good at, but we could always know more stuff.
This book surprised me. I consider myself knowledgeable. Ocean Sunlight made me feel ignorant. This is something that is probably known to today's grade school aged child. And then some. It also made me marvel at our home, the complexities of its self-regulating processes.
Co-author Molly Bang's gorgeous and luminous illustrations reveals the the underwater food chain with shoals and shoals of creatures hungrily consuming other hungrily consuming creatures. This is the glorious violence of mother nature, who gives life with one hand, even as she takes life with the other hand. And at the lowest of the lowest, yet the apex of this cycle, is the smallest, the phytoplankton, shimmering with a globe's supply of oxygen. As many plants as there are stars, drifting on the surface of planet earth's oceanic bodies, phytoplankton is a word I've known but failed to appreciate.
It's nice to know that even a children's book can teach a grown up, and a parent can learn along with his child.
This book surprised me. I consider myself knowledgeable. Ocean Sunlight made me feel ignorant. This is something that is probably known to today's grade school aged child. And then some. It also made me marvel at our home, the complexities of its self-regulating processes.
Co-author Molly Bang's gorgeous and luminous illustrations reveals the the underwater food chain with shoals and shoals of creatures hungrily consuming other hungrily consuming creatures. This is the glorious violence of mother nature, who gives life with one hand, even as she takes life with the other hand. And at the lowest of the lowest, yet the apex of this cycle, is the smallest, the phytoplankton, shimmering with a globe's supply of oxygen. As many plants as there are stars, drifting on the surface of planet earth's oceanic bodies, phytoplankton is a word I've known but failed to appreciate.
It's nice to know that even a children's book can teach a grown up, and a parent can learn along with his child.
October 26, 2012
Oh, how I wish I had this book when I was taking biology! This is a great book about, you guessed it, ocean sunlight. It is a non-fiction book about how the sun powers the ocean and the earth and the life cycle. This would be a book that I would most definitely use for a life science lesson for my fourth through sixth grade students. It would be a grade add-on for the text book or an additional learning tool for those students who might be struggling with the subject area. The text in the book is written in simple terms so it is very easy to understand and it correlates directly with the pictures that the students are looking at. There is a section at the back of the book that would be a great reference source for students to take notes from or I can plan an activity from where I have the students break into groups and make charts of how the sun powers the earth and oceans.
Bang, Molly, and Penny Chisholm. Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas. New York: Blue Sky, 2012. Print.
Bang, Molly, and Penny Chisholm. Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas. New York: Blue Sky, 2012. Print.
August 8, 2018
HCPL Juv Nonfiction 571.455 Ban
Acclaimed Caldecott artist Molly Bang paints a stunning, sweeping view of our ever-changing oceans. In this timely book, award-winner Molly Bang uses her signature poetic language and dazzling illustrations to introduce the oceanic world. From tiny aquatic plants to the biggest whale or fish, Bang presents a moving, living picture of the miraculous balance sustaining each life cycle and food chain deep within our wondrous oceans. On land or in the deep blue sea, we are all connected-and we are all a part of a grand living landscape. Packed with clear, simple science, this informative, joyous book will help children understand and celebrate the astonishing role our oceans play in human life.
Subject: Photobiology -- Juvenile literature.
Marine organisms -- Effect of light on -- Juvenile literature.
Plants -- Effect of light on -- Juvenile literature.
Sunshine -- Juvenile literature
Acclaimed Caldecott artist Molly Bang paints a stunning, sweeping view of our ever-changing oceans. In this timely book, award-winner Molly Bang uses her signature poetic language and dazzling illustrations to introduce the oceanic world. From tiny aquatic plants to the biggest whale or fish, Bang presents a moving, living picture of the miraculous balance sustaining each life cycle and food chain deep within our wondrous oceans. On land or in the deep blue sea, we are all connected-and we are all a part of a grand living landscape. Packed with clear, simple science, this informative, joyous book will help children understand and celebrate the astonishing role our oceans play in human life.
Subject: Photobiology -- Juvenile literature.
Marine organisms -- Effect of light on -- Juvenile literature.
Plants -- Effect of light on -- Juvenile literature.
Sunshine -- Juvenile literature
April 1, 2013
a non-fiction book about how the sun powers the ocean and the earth and the life cycle. This would be a book that I would most definitely use for a life science lesson for a fourth through sixth grade students. It would be a grade add-on for the text book or an additional learning tool for those students who might be struggling with the subject area. The text in the book is written in simple terms so it is very easy to understand and it correlates directly with the pictures that the students are looking at. There is a section at the back of the book that would be a great reference source for students to take notes from or I can plan an activity from where I have the students break into groups and make charts of how the sun powers the earth and oceans.
July 12, 2013
Author and illustrator Molly Bang, known for her vibrant illustrations, dips her paintbrush and prose into the ocean with this picturebook style non-fiction work. Misleadingly titled "Ocean Sunlight", this book is mostly about the food chain and life cycle of plants and animals on land and in the sea. Sunlight itself tells the story of how all living things get their energy from it.
Overall the book is a bit disjointed and does not flow well. Readers are bumped from land into sea, talking about photosynthesis to trying to comprehend numbers in the octrillions. Informational back matter helps with basic knowledge of scientific concepts in the book.
Useful in classrooms with teacher interaction, but not recommended for one on one reading.
Overall the book is a bit disjointed and does not flow well. Readers are bumped from land into sea, talking about photosynthesis to trying to comprehend numbers in the octrillions. Informational back matter helps with basic knowledge of scientific concepts in the book.
Useful in classrooms with teacher interaction, but not recommended for one on one reading.
July 3, 2014
Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm once again explain in clear, straight forward terms how the cycle of sunlight, plants, and animals, and all living things work through a specific scope.
The illustrations were gorgeous and the information timely and extremely well-written for children. Bang doesn't coat over some of the details but describes them simply and clearly. Which is good because she gets into some really specific details regarding phytoplankton, zooplankton, photosynthesis, marine snow, and more. A strong, but not overwhelming, environmental message resonates here as well, which is understandable considering the topic.
Highly recommended, grades 2-3 and up. So recommended that I put it on my library's recommended summer reading list for students entering grade 3!
The illustrations were gorgeous and the information timely and extremely well-written for children. Bang doesn't coat over some of the details but describes them simply and clearly. Which is good because she gets into some really specific details regarding phytoplankton, zooplankton, photosynthesis, marine snow, and more. A strong, but not overwhelming, environmental message resonates here as well, which is understandable considering the topic.
Highly recommended, grades 2-3 and up. So recommended that I put it on my library's recommended summer reading list for students entering grade 3!
December 6, 2018
This book is a companion piece to Living Sunlight by the same author which describes the process of photosynthesis. This book shows how oceans without a bunch of green plants still have photosynthesis as the basis of the food chains there. It discusses phytoplankton and zooplankton and how ocean food chains work. I like the way the recycling of nutrients is shown and this will make a great addition to my classroom library. The illustrations are beautiful. I was a little miffed that the book said "all" food chains are based on the sun's energy, but the extensive information included at the end of the book explains that the author felt that the subject needed to be simplified so chemotrophic extremophiles were excluded from the main part of the story, but explained at the end.
April 4, 2013
Ocean Sunlight How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm - Great for 2nd grade and up- sometimes more for older children but younger students can also get a lot out of the book- absolutely gorgeous pictures lead you through this gorgeous informational book told from the perspective of the sun. Loved how the book was packed with information, led you through the ecosystem, and didn't thump you over the head with information on how the earth is ruined but instead shared hope and information respectfully. I personally though ocean snow information was fascinating... read to find out about that- or watch the movie at the top of this post!
January 31, 2015
This is a stunning book. It explores the way the sun provides all of our food and allows us all to live. It focuses briefly on land and then fully on the sea and the differences caused by the different parts of the ocean receiving different amounts of sunlight and how the light gets changed into sugar by plants and then into energy for those who eat plants and then into energy for those who eat the animals that Eat plants.
Except this book explains all that much more clearly than I can here and with the use of some stunning pictures!
Uses simple language but doesn't dumb it down, still using the correct scientific terms. Fun and clear and exiting and informative.
Except this book explains all that much more clearly than I can here and with the use of some stunning pictures!
Uses simple language but doesn't dumb it down, still using the correct scientific terms. Fun and clear and exiting and informative.
July 20, 2018
This book is a great mentor text for a few things. First, for our fourth grade unit on environments and habitats, this works beautifully. It looks at how the ocean habitat sustains itself and explains that there are many plants in the ocean and the majority are too small for us to see. It is also a great mentor text for informational writing because it shares so much information in specific chunks for understanding. It takes something very complex and makes it easier to learn. This can go along with Living Sunlight which talks about the same ideas on land. It could be interesting to compare and contrast the two books.
June 24, 2014
Ocean Sunlight tries to cover too many hard concepts and vocabulary...energy from the sun, photosynthesis, molecules, carbon dioxide, the food chain, phytoplankton, oxygen, zooplankton, marine snow, mucus, carcasses, bacteria, etc. It was a confusing book. The illustrations are beautiful, but do not clearly illustrate the concepts.
There are detailed notes at the end of the book further explaining the concepts. This book could supplement a science unit about any of these subjects. I would use it in 3rd grade and above.
There are detailed notes at the end of the book further explaining the concepts. This book could supplement a science unit about any of these subjects. I would use it in 3rd grade and above.
March 20, 2018
I really like this book. This is a non-fiction book about the ocean and the sunlight. It goes in depth about how the sunlight helps animals, humans, and the ocean. I think this would be a great book for a classroom when we talk about the ocean. In the back, there is a glossary with definitions used in the book and a little information about it. I think this is a great informational book for young children. It gives great information without feeling like a textbook or words that are too hard for a student to understand. I think the media used in this book is watercolors or pastel.
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