Shockers of the Sea Book

Introduces fishes and sea animals with "electric sense" and explains how they produce, detect, and use electricity to survive.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-A handsome introduction to a variety of unusual creatures that use electricity in unexpected ways: to locate, stun, and capture prey; in electrolocation; to communicate; or to sense the world about them. The simple, readable text is accompanied by strong, somber oil paintings that mirror the often murky waters these "electricians" inhabit, showing eels and catfish, knife fish, stargazers, rays, skates, and others in their marine and freshwater worlds. Information boxes provide snippets of data on such topics as electrocommunication, Volta's battery, and the use of electric rays for medicinal purposes in ancient Greece. This is a fascinating initiation to an exceptional collection of animals. Team it with Sandra Markle's equally intriguing Down, Down, Down in the Ocean (Walker, 1999) for an engrossing window into an obscure world.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.