Books About Marine Life by Dr Mark Norman

Australian Junior School Marine Reference Books for Young Readers

May 25, 2009

Australian marine biologist Dr Mark Norman offers primary school-aged students a glimpse at the amazing marine life of Antarctica and Australia.

Dr Mark Norman combines his knowledge of Australian and Antarctic waters with his training in teaching, educational display design and underwater cinematography to produce a visually appealing series of fact books for eight to twelve year olds published by Black Dog Books.

Dr Mark Norman Marine Books for Students

Each book contains a combination of photographs and other illustrations, fact boxes, and brief sections of information on a range of topics relevant to the subject of each book. A contents page, glossary, index and website recommendations for further research ensure that students can easily access the information they need.

Colour photographs of a variety of animals and organisms are accompanied by information on common predators, feeding and migration habits and illustrations showing relative size to other animals and/or man. The language is appropriate for primary school-aged students and the layout and format make it easy to find and understand relevant information.

The Antarctica Book

The coldest place on earth, Antarctica is home to a fascinating collection of animals. In addition to the familiar seals, penguins and birds such as the albatross and petrel, Dr Norman also offers fascinating information on less known Antarctic life such as the Antarctic Mite, which lives in the mucous in the nasal passages of seals.

Offering information on organisms in the Antarctic food chain, Norman also discusses the impact man is having on the delicate balance of life in this remote part of the world.

The Penguin Book

With 17 different species of penguin living in southern waters, Dr Norman offers a book dedicated to this familiar black and white bird.

From the largest Emperor and King Penguins (1m and 95 cm respectively) through to the diminutive Galapagos and Little Penguins (40 cm and 35 cm respectively), The Penguin Book provides information on appearance, feeding habits, predators, location for each species and other general information.

The Great Barrier Reef

This book offers students an overview of the diverse range of marine life that inhabits the Great Barrier Reef. Covering plants, fish, eels, sea snakes, turtles, clams, manta rays and the coral itself, readers are given insight into the diversity and interdependence of the Reef marine ecology.

The issue of climate change and environmental damage to the Reef is also briefly covered, with suggestions for range of simple lifestyle choices that can help reduce an individual’s environmental impact.

The Shark Book

There are more than 370 different types of sharks in the world, ranging in both size and ferocity.

Dr Norman dispels some myths and offers readers fascinating facts about these feared ocean dwellers.

The Octopus’s Garden

Offering a glimpse into the amazing world that exists under water, this book is accompanied by a DVD containing live footage of creatures that are rarely seen by man.

The diversity of the underwater world is brought to life, with the accompanying book offering readers a range of facts and figures about life under the sea.

The Wild Planet Series

Dr Norman’s books are part of the Wild Planet series of books by Black Dog Books, which also includes titles by Dr Carla Litchfield, Gill Jolly and Malcolm Douglas.

Purchased individually or as a complete set, these books are ideal for students to undertake research for class projects relating to marine wildlife and environmental impact topics in primary school.

The copyright of the article Books About Marine Life by Dr Mark Norman in Children's Non-Fiction is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Books About Marine Life by Dr Mark Norman in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.