One Ocean: A Journey Beneath the Waves

PreS-Gr 3–Zoologist Davies and illustrator Desmond team up again to create another magical tale of Earth. This time, through the journey of a seed from the warm waters of the Caribbean to the cold waters off the coast of Scotland, they show readers the beauty and diversity of “wild waters underneath the waves.” The same two cheerful, dark-skinned children from One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth return, this time visiting their light-skinned grandmother at her remote, thatch-roofed beach house. Daily, they explore the nearby beach, looking for treasures from the ocean. When they find a very large seed, called a seed heart, their grandmother tells them of the seed’s journey across the Atlantic, and the children imagine themselves in each ocean habitat, from seagrass meadows to kelp forests, interacting with the marvelous creatures that live there. When it starts to rain, the three retreat inside to draw a map of the seed’s journey and learn about the importance of the ocean’s currents that nourish life and dictate Earth’s weather. The story concludes with a reminder of the damage that humans have done to the ocean as well as possible actions humans can take—and what steps they have taken already—to help the oceans heal. Desmond’s illustrations perfectly capture the curiosity and wonder of the children as well as the marvels of the ocean.