Sottacqua. Sottoterra

by Aleksandra Mizielińska, Daniel Mizieliński

Questo libro è un viaggio nelle profondità della terra, dove incontrerai speleologi, minatori e anche passeggeri della metropolitana, oltre a ossa fossili di dinosauro, reperti archeologici e...ottimi ortaggi. Potrai sbirciare nelle tane degli animali, inoltrarti nei labirinti delle grotte e calarti nella miniera più profonda del mondo. Grandi illustrazioni e sezioni dettagliate ti guideranno in profondità, dallo strato sotto i tuoi piedi fio al nucleo incandescente della terra. E poi sbucherai dall'altra parte per scoprire che cosa si nasconde...SOTT'ACQUA!

Questo libro è un viaggio nelle profondità del mare, dove incontrerai subacquei a caccia di record, scienziati a bordo di navi oceanografiche, pesci coloratissimi, giganti marini e altre creature bizzarre che popolano gli abissi. Visiterai vecchi sommergibili, ti calerai in un bacino profondissimo e scoprirai il relitto del Titanic. Grandi illustrazioni e sezioni dettagliate ti guideranno sempre più in profondità: passerai dalle barriere coralline baciate dal sole fino all'oscurità impenetrabile degli abissi oceanici. E poi sbucherai dall'altra parte per scoprire che cosa si nasconde...SOTTOTERRA!

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Nature, Animals, Maps

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizielinski graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland, in 2007. In 2010 they were nominated for the Bologna Ragazzi Award and the IBBY Honor List.

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy...no, HOLEY in the groundy and the watery!
You need this book in your house, especially if you have the childrens who come and go through your living quarters. Even without the childrens, this book should be on your coffee table.
First off, it will make you look whimsical but smart, like someone who likes cartoons but also enjoys science. I'm sure Gary Larson has this book (if he doesn't, he should)

This is a flip book, meaning that you're reading along nicely and then the story stops because the next bunch of pages are upside-down and you have to turn the entire book over and start again at the back cover which is now the front cover for a whole different story.
I love flip books.

Technically, this is a book for kids, probably designed with 3rd-6th-graders in mind. But the pictures would be fun for tykes who don't yet read and it's also enjoyable for oldsters like me because here's the thing: This book is about all the cool things underneath!

In the Under Water side:


there is so much to explore and learn about, from aquatic animals to how sinkholes happen to the Titanic. Each double-page spread is fully illustrated with snippets of factual information all over the place, sort of like a Richard Scarry book only with SCIENCE!


The Under Earth side:


is the same only with stuff that goes on under the ground. I've always enjoyed the fictional cross-sections of earth that show burrowing animals and old junk and treasure chests and dinosaur bones, etc. This is like that only with SCIENCE instead of pure imagination.


It's just so much fun! All of it!

If you're looking for a gift for someone who isn't big on reading lots of text but loves facts, this would probably be ideal. I mean, you can never go wrong with a book, right?

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under Water, Under Earth by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski is an oversized flip book including under water and under earth discoveries.

This book is so jam-packed with information. On the earth side, children and adults will learn about Bugs and Microorganisms, ant hills, burrowing animals, roots, underground utilities, archeological finds and much more including the layers of earth and core. The book gives a real look at the underground and is extremely detailed. It even goes into detail about how underground utilities work.

When you're done with the earth side, you flip it over and read about water. The water side teaches about lakes, oceans, sinkholes, diving (water pressure and suits) , giants of the deep, oil and gas platforms, ships, deep dwellers, and much more.

The book is so large that when you open it (bottom and top pages together), you're really looking at a size of approximately 24" x 14". There's so much information here!

This is a great book for schools, libraries and homes. Children will not be bored or disappointed with this one. Tons of fun!

5*****

[Hymerka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Розкішна книжечка, просто не могла відірватися. Сподобалася навіть більше, ніж "Карти", мабуть, тому, що тут більше тексту — різноманітних цікавих фактів про все на світі (усе під світом?..). Це дійсно неймовірна мандрівка в глибини нашої Землі. Величезна, красивезна, захоплива — саме такою і має бути пізнавальна книжечка для найменшеньких.

[Tom Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant non-fiction book on what lurks below. A really interesting way to approach a writing book: set in landscape, starting from the front it focuses on under earth while starting from the back (flipped) focuses on underwater. Great illustrations and really immersive experience!

[Jennifer B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! I love this team of authors! Like their other books, so informative, colorful, and FUN! Older kids and adults can get so much out of this!

[M]

Really loved this one!!! Such a good conversation starter - read one/two pages and talk for minutes about the wonders inside it. I read it with friends and family and it was quite nice. Looking forward to more work from these two illustrator-writers!

[Eleanor Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

what an amazing non-fiction book! I absolutely love it. The quality of colour, images, facts and the paper make this book so great. It's a lovely way of getting children to explore the world around them, and deeper into areas they may not know about in a fun way. What may seem like an overwhelming number of facts is made into an easy read through the presentation of beautiful images and a bigger than A3 spread. Even if a child were to pick this up and flick through it for a few minutes there are so many striking things that they are bound to learn something new. I particularly love the lay out of flipping the book round to discover what is under water compared to what is under earth. It's something that is really different and will definitely be on my future classroom's book shelf!

[Luke Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishingly comprehensive non-fiction work about everything you could possibly conceive of beneath the ground, or underwater. Would work brilliantly as a resource for dipping in & out of- and for those children who are reluctant to get stuck into a conventional story.

[Holly Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was full of information and amazing illustrations that any child would love! The author has been so clever and has incorporated 2 books into 1 - one side being Under Earth and the other being Under Water. At the beginning, there's a contents page which includes everything that you could think of about the underground world and underwater world. Children will learn so much from this book. This book is so rich and full of information you could easily spend a lesson on 1 page. Really recommend this book.

[Sonia Belviso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for kids and adults :)

[Ellis Balague · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this book and the facts spread out across the pages. It explores what lies under the earth and the water, including life, infrastructure, and technology. A great book to teach children about the world around them.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took for freakin' ever to read. it isn't that it is too long, it is just so much that it was hard to get through.
AND, all it made me do is what to go to Norway so I can drive through the Laerdal Tunnel. The Earth was way more interesting to me than the Water Side. I love the ocean on the surface but below it doesn't thrill me!

It is confusing. Lines and numbers and facts and details. This is a clear cut case of "TMI" (Too Much information). Interesting, information, factual, but WAY WAY WAY too much! Like eating too much candy... it gives you a belly ache! Moderation people... moderation!

It felt like trying to catch your breath under water and you couldn't wait to get to the surface to breath again!

It is over-sized...which is always a problem. It isn't a cuddle up and read book!!

It is two sided (and meets in the core of the Earth.... that was cool) but to reference the other book it used either ant pg 22 (earth Side) and fish p 33 (Water side)

I had to sip it. It is like a bitter pill you have to swallow it, you know it is good for you, the discomfort will only be temporary but you hesitate to take the pill.

This book has problems that were REALLY hard to ignore as I plodded through it. That is why 3 stars is GENEROUS from me!

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

His is a fantastic non-fiction book exploring what is under water and under Earth. This would be a great addition to any primary classroom across all year groups. Younger or LA children would be able to explore the different stages through the detailed and informative pictures while older and HA children would be able to use the accompanying facts and labels to carry out their own research. I have seen the value high quality non-fiction books like this one have on LA and SEN children as they are empowered to find things out for themselves though exploring the images. Each page has a clear title, colourful images and concise facts and labels. The structure of this books works by each page from the under water side getting deeper and each page from the Earth side going further towards the centre. There are lots of pages, such as the fossils page which could be used to support science lessons. Overall this is a very engaging and empowering book for all children.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stunning two-in-one book examines our world just below the surface: water and earth. The illustrations are amazing, and kids will flip as they see the inside of an anthill, take a look at an archaeological dig, check out a history of submarines, or tag along for a tour of the Mariana Trench. I can’t get enough of this book, and kids who love natural science won’t, either. Check out this spread on a Dreadnoughtus schrani!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing and over-sized picture book that I imagine will have kids opening, putting on the floor, lying on their stomachs while looking and learning. It holds so much information about "under the earth" and "under the sea". Classrooms should have one, and a child interested in either part of the science will love it.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So flippin cool!!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is phenomenal. The information (written 2015) is likely a bit dated by now, and it shows in sections like the spread about the Titantic, which could benefit from an update about the infamous Titan submersible incident earlier this year, but overall adults and children alike can learn tons of valuable facts from the book. I definitely learned a lot about diving, spelunking, ant societal structure, and the history of undersea exploration and technological developments, plus I ended up doing a fair amount of Wikipedia travelling after the text piqued my interest in multiple subjects (tip: if you're interested in doing more research into "the Lost City" on page 37, try searching for "the Lost City hydrothermal field." I was a bit disappointed the authors did not specify the "hydrothermal field" bit of the name to disambiguate it from like subjects, as not doing so is counterproductive to further study. Four stars because of that and other small typos/errors). My favorite spreads have to be the one on sinkholes (how terrifying and fascinating!) and the one on "edible roots and more." The edible roots spread is a botanical beauty to look at, and out of sheer coincidence, several days after I read those pages, I correctly identified Japanese horseradish (wasabi) solely because I remembered seeing what it looked like in this book. Highly recommend this read if you love filling your brain with new science-y knowledge!

[KidsBooksWorthReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

One giant book with two super informative books inside. I love books I learn from too. Our four year old constantly asks about what is underground. This books covers way more info than I can come up with while driving. (Which is the time she asks the most questions about the world and life..) What is underground? Oh, just bugs, microorganisms, burrowing animals, edible roots, deeps roots, underground utilities, tunnels, archaeological finds, paleontological finds, caves, mines, tectonic plates, layers of the earth.. This books covers all this and more. What? More?! Flip the book over for answers the question, "What's under water?" Such an amazing informative book! We've taken our time and read slowly through this one. (Still not through it..)

[Tom Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

An utterly outstanding hardback, non-fiction book. There was one copy of this in my Year 6 classroom; the book was so in-demand, a waiting list was devised to allow a fair amount of reading to each child and a second book had to be ordered due to wear-and-tear of the original copy.
It is such an interesting book, full to the brim with facts, illustrations and explanations. One of of the book deals with goings-on below ground, with the other half relating to under the sea. Every single page is hugely interesting and informative, with such a wide array of topics covered. It has just the right level of detail to keep both very young readers, as well as adults fully engaged.

[Анатолій Волков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга устроена интересно – половина посвящена исследованиям под землей, другая половина соответственно под водой. Книга хорошо иллюстрирована самими авторами и несет нужный багаж знаний для юного читателя. Хотя даже взрослые узнают много нового. Информация подана в доступной, схематичной форме, жаль, что в моем детстве таких книг не было.
Книга не претендует на исчерпывающие знания по вопросам, что находится под землей или под водой, но все же главное подано и подано доступным языком.
Кстати эти авторы также нарисовали и выдали довольно приличный атлас для детей с иллюстрациями в подобном стиле.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that I came across at the library and it looked interesting. It is a fun little book of science. I do think it would be a bit hard to read for or with a child, though maybe just setting it out on a floor or a low table would work. It took me a little while to catch on that the ant and fish icons next to page numbers had meaning (indicating which half of the book it is in), but it seems like a clever little touch. The science seems pretty well done, and there are fun little bits of humor in the art.

[McYang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it so much I bought it after reading the first 5 pages - I MUST own this! I want to be able to pour through it and enjoy its wonderful details whenever I like. My 5 yr old and I have been reading a few pages together each night. Granted I need to amend some of the language to keep her interest, but she is enthralled about subjects like Natural Gas and the Marianna Trench bc of this book and I know she will continue to peruse it for years to come. Once again I am reminded why this duo are in my top 5!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This book was enormous! Not necessarily long, but the size of the book itself was huge! It is full of fun, nerdy facts about the earth. I think it's good for grade to middle school age. I really enjoyed it. At first I didn't think the illustrations were that good, but they get the job done, and some of them are pretty funny. My only complaint is that some pages have so much information on them that it's hard to follow (all the words are in conversation-type bubbles). It amazes me how much we still don't know about the earth we live on.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shall be forever more known as 'The Book Fish' in our house as that is what my 4 year old son calls it and he requests it every single night.

I can't sing the praise of this book highly enough, it is divided into two parts, one side under earth the other side under water and it just gives various information about what we find underground and under water. There are pages I've read a dozen times and pages I only just discovered when we decided to read it from start to finish. Either way is good, just read a page or read the whole thing satisfying either way.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is packed with facts. The reader gets to find out about animals that live in burrows, root crops around the world, information on subways, tectonic plates, how water is purified, giant animals of the oceans, the history of submarines and diving equipment, and much more. The illustrations are done well and sometimes there are extra little scenes to enjoy like what people are doing in their apartment buildings or the different jobs workmen are performing underground. This book is fairly large in size and I found it a bit unwieldy but a child could open it out on a floor to enjoy.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this oversized book by its graphics - the format and the colors. Half of the book shows you what (both natural and human constructed) is under the earth. Flip it over and the other half depicts what exists below the water. There are meaty factoids about burrowing animals, mining, speleology, tubers, tectonic plates, whales, submarines, you name it. It can be read in any order. It is interesting and fun for all ages.

[Kaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! Especially if you have a child (or you are an adult) who is interested in the Earth, science, engineering, animals, or the ocean. Beautiful illustrations and lots of facts on each two page spread. From one direction, you start at the Earth's surface and work your way to the Earth's core. Then you flip the book over and start at the water's surface and work you way to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

One half of the book (read from the front) is all about things under the earth.
The other half (read from the back) is about things under the water.

The book is an extra large format and has lots of detail.

It reminds me of an Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia, but isn't quite that, either.

Meant for slow perusal, this isn't a picture book you're going to cruise through quickly. There's a ton of information here and I think there will be something here to intrigue everyone.

[Zuzana Dankic · Rating 5 out of 5]

GRaficky krasna kniha. Vselico som sa dozvedela a este sa k nej da asi tak 200 krat vratit, to ma na tychto knizkach bavi. O Marianskej priekope sme si este ja pogooglit museli ako je to s tou jej hlbkou a ako vyzeral ozajstne ten mega pocin ponoru na jej dno a tak dalej. Clovek sa uci so smrti :D Esteze kupujem tie destke knihy!

[Melanie Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the library and was blown away by how informative it is along with fabulous illustrations. My kids and I looked at it for hours learning about so many things from geysers to plate tectonics and so many other things. The pictures make it fun for non reading kids as well. It was a big hit in our house.