Who Needs a Reef?
by
Karen Patkau
Order:
USA
Can
Tundra, 2014 (2014)
Hardcover
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
K
aren Patkau's
Who Needs a Reef?: A Coral Ecosystem
is one of an
Ecosystem
series, aimed at grades 2 to 5, that also includes
Who Needs a Desert?: A Desert Ecosystem
and
Who Needs a Prairie?: A Grassland Ecosystem
, also by the same author.
T
he illustrations are as enticing and colorful as coral reefs I've dived through around the world. Patkau first introduces young readers to the ecosystem with her
Welcome to the Reef
... '
How beautiful and strange the reef is, bustling and teeming with life.
'
S
he explains
How a Coral Reef Forms
, showing the insides of a coral polyp, and explores in the following pages the diversity of what's to be found
Living on the Reef
. After this comes an explanation of
The Food Chain
, with plankton at the bottom and how
Life is a Cycle
on the reef.
F
inally the author explains how
The Reef Protects the Shoreline
, letting
Beaches and Harbors Develop
, and how
The Reef is Productive
(in its harvest of food, in medicine and in tourism). The conclusion? '
Who needs a reef? We all do.
'
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