NONFICTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books For Children. ISBN: 978618966363.

PLOT SUMMARY

This is a young person’s introduction to marine life and the wold of the oceans. Jenkins begins by describing the oceans in general, then progresses to the birds and fish that live above and on the surface, then plunges into the many levels below to present the varied forms of undersea life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Jenkins divides his book into separate two page spreads that cover different aspects of the subject. The illustrations combine detail with simplicity in a way that captures the mysteries of t he deep. The accompanying text provides essential information about the area covered. Each spread also has an adjunct in the back of the book where more detailed information is provided. This method presents those readers who want to learn more with the opportunity to do so without disrupting the flow of the primary text. Each section also has a helpful “depth gauge” showing to what level the information pertains. This helps to orient the reader in his explorations. “Down, Down, Down…” is an excellent place for middle- schoolers to begin their discovery of the oceans around us. Parents and teachers will find this book a useful and entertaining resource.

REVIEW EXCERPT

“With his characteristically breathtaking paper-collage illustrations, Steve Jenkins takes readers from the surface of the western Pacific Ocean, where a great white shark's splash "could empty a swimming pool," down 10,000 feet to the Dark Zone, where the Sperm Whale hunts the Giant Squid in utter darkness, to the Pacific's deepest point in the Marianas Trench, nearly seven miles below sea level. Jenkins says that the book began with the convergence of several experiences. He read The Universe Below by William Broad, watched a BBC documentary about ocean life(…)”
(2009) Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. Kirkus Reviews, 77(8), 14. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2053

5. CONNECTIONS

Jenkins, S. (1999). The top of the world: Climbing Mount Everest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
ISBN 9780395942185