The Oceanology Handbook: A Course For Underwater Explorers (Ologies)
Gr 4-7–The text is cleverly presented as a facsimile of an 1863 document purportedly written by a passenger aboard Jules Verne's fictional submarine, the Nautilus. Definitions and descriptions of practical applications of oceanography are imaginatively presented on sepia-toned pages. The entries are brief but packed with information. One page displays the semaphore alphabet and includes a message for readers to translate. The answer is revealed in the “Solutions” section, which also contains the answers to the other challenges scattered throughout the text. Every page has illustrations; some, such as the maps of the currents and of the Earth's plates, are in color. The chapter entitled “A Shifting Surface” contains a cleverly inserted “Publisher Note” that attests to the prescience of the writer when facts not known in 1863, such as the theory of plate tectonics, are presented. The detachable sheet of colored stickers and letter in an envelope on the marbled endpapers could be removed before the book is ready for circulation. Informative and engaging, this attractive title will appeal to browsers and be useful for reports.–Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA. (c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.