And the Tide Comes In...
Exploring a Georgia Salt Marsh
By (author) Merryl Alber Illustrated by Joyce Mihran Turley
Publication date:
07 February 2013Length of book:
32 pagesPublisher
Taylor Trade PublishingISBN-13: 9780981770055
This book is a narrative told from the point of view of a young girl who is showing her visiting cousin a Georgia coastal salt marsh. The children visit the marsh every day for four days, slowly building their knowledge of the ecosystem. As they make their way through the tall marsh grass, the two children slip and slide on marsh mud, discover clusters of ribbed mussels at the base of the grass, and watch as fiddler crabs skitter from burrow to burrow around the edge of a creek. Representative of intertidal marshes throughout the world, the Georgia coastal salt marsh described in this book is typically shared by both land and marine mammals, presenting a unique ecosystem at the water's edge.
This colorful picture book combines facts and fiction. A girl visits coastal Georgia, where her cousin takes her out to explore the nearby marsh and observe the wildlife there while she explains the complex ecosystem. On a typical double-page spread, a large painterly picture illustrates the story on one page, while the opposite page presents the narrative text and an illustrated paragraph of related information. The colorful artwork is at its best in landscape scenes and close-ups of animals. The book concludes with a map indicating the abundance of salt marshes in coastal areas worldwide. The pages with text also feature questions, such as 'What have you seen floating in the water?' The narrative works pretty well as a vehicle for conveying information, and the accompanying paragraphs and illustrations are helpful in filling in gaps. One of the few picture books on this fascinating and important topic.