Learning about our vast ocean is a fun and exciting topic for kids. The many books about all the fascinating creatures within the deep blue sea will bring the ocean to life for young readers.
1. A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Hermit Crab learns an important lesson. He learns to appreciate change as he moves to a new home.
2. Who Would Win? Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark by Jerry Pallotta
This nonfiction book is about a fight between two of the most dominant ocean creatures, the killer whale and the great white shark. Kids learn about both of these tremendous creatures as they are compared.
3. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating
Shark Lady is an amazing picture book that tells the story of Eugenie Clark, who fell in love with sharks. While she thinks they are amazing creatures, she soon discovers that many don't feel the same way.
4. Big Book of the Blue by Yuval Zommer
The Big Book of Blue is about all the amazing sea creatures and how they survive underwater. This book is full of facts that young children will find fascinating.
5. The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson
Snail and Whale are best friends right from the first time they meet as they travel around together. This wonderful story reminds us that even being small, you can still help someone out of trouble.
6. The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs: The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation by Kate Messner
The Brilliant Deep is a wonderful book about the living legacy of an environmental scientist, Ken Nedimyer. Ken Nedimyer is a sea conversation pioneer and marine life protector who found the Coral Restoration Foundation.
7. If I Were a Whale by Shelley Gill
If I Were a Whale is a fun rhyming book that is perfect for toddlers. The biggest whales found in the ocean are explored using beautiful illustrations and fun facts.
8. A Small Blue Whale by Beth Ferry
A Small Blue Whale is a heartwarming story of friendship and seeking out a true friend. When the whale finds himself in trouble, a group of penguins shows him what a true friend can be.
9. Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne
When famous internationally known oceanographer was just a curious boy who loved the ocean. He would become a prolific champion of the seas.
10. Citizens of the Sea: Wondrous Creatures From the Census of Marine Life By Nancy Knowlton
National Geographic Citizens of the Sea is a collection of the most wondrous Marine Life creatures. The underwater photographers have captured the diversity and intrigue that life below the surface of the ocean waters.
11. Mister Seahorse: board book by Eric Carle
Eric Carle's book never disappoints to engage a young reader. Mister Seahorse is a fascinating tale of the fact that father seahorses are the ones who carry the eggs instead of the mother.
12. Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles by Philippe Cousteau
Follow the Moon Home is a story about the powerful difference young people can make in the world to save sea turtles. Environmental activist Philippe Cousteau and author Deborah Hopkinson create a powerful story about how communities can come together to make a difference.
13. Ocean Animals: Who's Who in the Deep Blue by Johnna Rizzo
Ocean Animals Who's Who In the Deep Blue will have young readers learning about some familiar underwater critters. This colorful, fact-filled book will bring the deep blue to life.
14. Sea Creatures Coloring Book for Kids age 2-8 Amazing Ocean Animals
This fun coloring book gives kids 50 different sea animals to learn about. Kids will enjoy coloring fun sea animals and beautiful ocean scenes.
15. The Sea Mammal Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta
Jerry Pallotta mixes fun and facts in this beautifully illustrated book of sea mammals. kids will be thoroughly engaged as they learn a new fact with every turn of the page.
16. The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a ride to the ocean floor in a submarine expedition. The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor is sure to be a favorite of anyone wanting to learn about plant and animal life on the ocean floor.
17. Life in a Coral Reef (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Wendy Pfeffer
Life in a Coral Reef explores a day in the life of a tiny coral city. Readers will encounter everything from clownfish to spiny lobsters.
18. One Tiny Turtle: Read and Wonder by Nicola Davies
Endangered loggerhead sea turtles are mysterious, wonderful creatures. One Tiny Turtle follows a loggerhead sea turtle for thirty years as she swims thousands of miles in the oceans searching for food. The fascinating thing about this turtle will be how this mysterious creature goes back to the same beach she was born to lay her eggs.
19. Dory Story by Jerry Pallotta
The little boy is forbidden from going out on his own, but he can't resist. Although the way he encounters one amazing sea creature after another.
20. In the Sea by David Elliott
In the Sea is a collection of poetry intertwined with beautiful illustrations about a variety of sea creatures. Readers will explore life in the ocean with a short engaging verse that is a wonderful book for children.
21. Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews
22. Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins
The deepest parts of the ocean are the most mysterious and least explores. Down Down Down takes us on a journey more than a mile deep where we get a look at jellyfish that flash neon, creatures with huge teeth, and squid a size rarely seen.
23. Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh
Marie Tharp's father was a mapmaker that inspired her to want to create a map of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Although she didn't know if it was possible, it was certainly worth a try.
24. Sea Creatures by Seymour Simon
Sea Creatures by Seymour Simon is a wonderful collection of photographs with factual text. This book is sure to be a staple in any ocean unit.
25. The Ultimate Book of Sharks (National Geographic Kids) by Brian Skerry
All kids are fascinated with the fierce, fantastic fish, the shark. The predator of the sea, this book includes photographs of every type of shark known.
26. The New Ocean: The Fate of Life in a Changing Sea by Byrn Barnard
Global warming, pollution, as well as overfishing are causing a new ocean that is drastically changing. While some change is good, however, the ocean is becoming hotter and some places are becoming void of ocean life. This book takes a look at how the new ocean will change the lives of some common sea life.
27. Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Jones
Human trash has had a major effect on our ocean life over the year. Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer and a sea of others track trash that has spilled in the ocean. Scientists are using the data that is collected to understand what is happening and how to protect our oceans.
28. My Ocean Is Blue by Darren Lebeuf
This story in prose is told from the point of view of a young girl with a physical disability. She describes the ocean with such vivid language that it will have kids thinking differently about the world around them.
29. Here Comes Ocean by Meg Fleming
Here Comes the Ocean is a wonderful picture book for toddlers and older kids alike. The story follows a young child and his adventures at the beach and all the wonderful sights and creatures he encounters.
30. The Sea Knows by Alice B. McGinty
The Sea Knows is sure to be a favorite book with its rhyming descriptions of the marine world. Readers will discover a world of strange and magnificent underwater creatures.
Take the Terror out of Teaching with 45 Books for New Teachers