Enjoy A Day in the Salt Marsh, one of the most dynamic habitats on earth. Fun-to-read, rhyming verse introduces readers to hourly changes in the marsh as the tide comes and goes. Watch the animals that have adapted to this ever-changing environment as they hunt for food or play in the sun, and learn how the marsh grass survives even though it is covered by salt water twice a day. An activity on adaptations is included in the For Creative Minds section.
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This book accomplishes everything — its detailed pictures of plants and animals give kids something to look for on every page, while the descriptive and easy-to-read poetic text teaches about the complex system of a salt marsh. It shows that it was written by Kevin Kurtz, someone who has the perfect background of teaching marine education to students who visited the SC Dept. of Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division and the South Carolina Aquarium, both in Charleston, SC. Anyone who loves the coast will appreciate this accurately written, yet colorfully fun, book about our beautiful salt marsh.
Why are salt marshes important? This question is posed on one of the activity pages. This beautiful books answers just that query. A salt marsh can stretch for miles with a seeming simplicity, yet this book points to the teeming symbiotic salt marsh life nearly hidden out of sight. A Day in the Salt Marsh takes the young reader hour by hour through the day, watching the changes as the tide goes in and out.
Author Kevin Kurtz has compiled a vast array, in rhyme, of fascinating information about life in the salt marsh. Illustrator Consie Powell perfectly matches the text with her triads of illustrations of every foldout page. Each one shows a different aspect of the highlighted animal or plant, such as the dolphin close up, dolphins breaking water in the distance, and the above and below water life nearby! Each section of illustration flows into the other. The book will create in young readers who live inland from coasts and the Gulf a desire to visit them someday. In the meantime, a great unit can be formed with just the information presented here. A fascinating read for children 3 – 7.