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About The Book

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Discover the tiny, fascinating world of sunken-ship reefs in this latest book in an illuminating nonfiction picture book series that explores how even the smallest habitats play big roles in nature.

Long ago, a grand treasure ship journeyed across the Caribbean sea. One day a storm swirled in. The ship was swished, and swayed, and swamped! Then it sank down to the seafloor, where it would become a treasure ship of a different kind…

When ships sink to the bottom of the sea, time can change them into rich reef ecosystems, home to a wealth of sea life big and small. Sunken ships and other human-made underwater objects are called artificial reefs. These ocean oases provide food and shelter for a vast array of plants and animals, from little sea lettuces to big bottlenose dolphins and many more sea species in between. With snappy, funny text and lush illustrations, this book invites curious readers to step into a tiny ecosystem that’s truly full of treasures.

About The Author

Photo courtesy of the author

Amy Hevron is an illustrator, graphic designer, and children’s book author. She is the illustrator of several children’s books including The Tide Pool Waits by Candace Fleming, Tree Hole Homes by Melissa Stewart, and Can You Hug a Forest? by Frances Gilbert, as well as her own Tiny Habitats series, Dust Bunny Wants a Friend, and The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration. Visit her at AmyHevron.com.

About The Illustrator

Photo courtesy of the author

Amy Hevron is an illustrator, graphic designer, and children’s book author. She is the illustrator of several children’s books including The Tide Pool Waits by Candace Fleming, Tree Hole Homes by Melissa Stewart, and Can You Hug a Forest? by Frances Gilbert, as well as her own Tiny Habitats series, Dust Bunny Wants a Friend, and The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration. Visit her at AmyHevron.com.

Product Details

Raves and Reviews

Colorful animals that compose the “rainbow of reef life” take on human expressions with their cartoonlike eyes and add humor with jokes in speech bubbles.

– Horn Book, September/October 2024 Issue

A Spanish galleon is “swished . . . and swayed . . . and SWAMPED!” by a storm—but that’s just the beginning! This cheerful tale describes how the sunken hull supports the growth of a new reef over the next century and beyond. Simple, charming illustrations show sea life moving in as the ship settles and decomposes. Readers will enjoy the silly puns and speech-bubble asides offered by the new reef dwellers. The text provides clear, basic information while including dashes of alliteration (“Gribbles gobbled into the mighty masts”) that result in a merry read-aloud.

– Booklist, 8/1/24

* “A captivating exploration of a wonder-filled domain most of us can only imagine.”

– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Resources and Downloads

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More books from this author: Amy Hevron

More books in this series: Tiny Habitats