The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s biggest coral reef system, stretching for more than 2,300 kilometres along Australia’s coast and covering an area the size of 70 million football fields. More than 600 species of coral live there  and a huge variety of fish and other creatures, from the beaky parrotfish who eat dead coral (pooping it out as sand) to the damselfish that tend gardens of seaweed and chase off intruders angrily – even scuba divers. Along with sharks, octopi, crabs, crocodiles, sea snakes and so many more, the Great Barrier Reef brims with life.

Detailing how a reef is made, what creatures live there, how humans impact coral reefs and how we can live harmoniously with them, this stunningly illustrated book is an excellent go-to for children starting to learn about the fragile and yet wondrous ecosystem that is the Great Barrier Reef. The section detailing the ways that the Aborigines and Torres Straight Islanders worked in harmony with the reef and their natural husbandry methods and reef mythology is particularly fascinating.

There are some longer scientific words included in the book, which some younger reader may need help with, but as ever with Flying Eye’s well designed books, the text is clear and accessible and written clearly, and Lisk Feng’s illustration is utterly captivating.