The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob: A Challenging Job

K-Gr 2—Complete with its own website, this book represents the author's goal to help children learn such traits as persistence, confidence, gratitude, and responsibility through young Bob's day-to-day encounters with problems and his subsequent solutions. Told in rhyming text, the book focuses on Bob and his aspirations of becoming a marine biologist. However, his naysayer companion, a hummingbird named Xena, is always cautioning him to look the other way, avoid challenges, and give up on problems. Through all the ways Bob is called upon to help creatures in distress, he learns that he can persevere and overcome self-doubt. The situations Bob faces are a bit contrived, and his solutions are neither logical nor wise. For example, he goes out in a rowboat to warn the sea creatures that a storm is coming. The brightly colored illustrations throughout are serviceable.