I’ve been fascinated by anything that glows in the dark since I was a child so when I first heard of bioluminescence I was enthralled. Even now I react with childlike wonder whenever I see sea sparkle photos.

“The word bioluminescence is made up of two parts - bio, which means “living thing” and luminescence, which means “light” - so, living light.”

This book provides some fun facts about twenty living lights:

* Dinoflagellates
* Velvet Belly Lanternshark
* Gulper Eel
* Anglerfish
* Lanternfish
* Shortnose Greeneye Fish
* Hatchetfish
* Firefly Squid
* Glass Squid
* Bioluminescent Octopus
* Atolla Jellyfish
* Crystal Jelly
* Lined Seahorse
* Bloodybelly Comb Jelly
* Bobtail Squid
* Giant Clam
* Long-Armed Brittle Star
* Midwater Jellyfish
* Sea Pen
* Sea Slug

Although they’re not officially one of the twenty, pyrosome, “the unicorn of the sea”, were also mentioned. I had to look them up because they sounded so interesting.

Some of the facts were really interesting.

“The Atolla uses its light to attract predators rather than chase them off. It is nicknamed the “alarm jelly” because when threatened, the Atolla flashes blue, bioluminescent light around its ring, like a police siren. It can project its light as far as 300 feet (91 m). When it flashes, curious larger predators come sniffing around and are drawn to the predator that was stalking the jelly.”

Others were nightmare fuel.

“As a young fish, the male latches onto a female anglerfish like a parasite. After the male digs his sharp teeth into the female, its mouth releases a special chemical that sort of melts her flesh. Over time, the male’s body joins with the female, and he loses all of his internal organs except for his reproductive organs. A female anglerfish can carry more than six males on her body!”

Stats provide facts about the length of each sea creature and their diet, as well as the depth and parts of the ocean they are found. Readers will be able to easily visualise the length of each creature because they’re compared to objects like soda cans, baseballs and ice creams. There is a glossary at the end of the book.

As a child I would have probably only used this book for a school project. Adult me loves all of the photos and fun facts. As I’m getting older I’m finding that I’m paying more attention to the beauty that surrounds me. Being able to read little tidbits about different plants and animals only adds to my awe of nature. There are quite a few sea creatures included in this book that I need to learn more about.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and becker&mayer! kids, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

Amazing World Sea Creatures: Encounter 20 Amazing Light-Up Animals by Lee Martin is a children's non fiction book that explores the amazing creatures that live in the deep ocean. From the lanternfish, to the Atolla jellyfish, to the glowing bioluminescent octopus, the ocean is filled with animals that gleam and glow. This book leads readers on a journey to see how these living lights use bioluminescence, fluorescence, and symbiotic bacteria to light up! Along with the information on twenty strange and amazing marine animals, the book also includes glow-in-the-dark stickers!

Amazing World Sea Creatures: Encounter 20 Amazing Light-Up Animals is an interesting and informative book that will capture the interest of many readers. The creatures that live in the depths of the oceans are strange to us, but nature has provided them with skills and tools to help them survive. This book explains those tools, how they work, and the lives of these unique animals in a way that is accessible and high interest. I think the photograph are simply stunning, and the graphics showing details like location range, size comparison, and more help make the facts offer easier to understand and put into context. I can see this book sparking further research and curiosity about sea life, and nature in general. The book does not give comprehensive information on each creature, how could it, but it offers enough information to satisfy middle grade readers, and all of those interested in the subject. Since I had a digital copy I did not have the stickers, so those were not included in my review, although I am sure the are an incentive to purchase for the target audience.

Kids will love the book and the stickers. It’s full of great information!

From the cover with its glow in the dark stickers i was a little put off, but that all changed when I opened the book and started reading. What I really like about this book, and others coming from this publisher, is that while it is an animal book, the author picks a topic and shows the reader how it differs in different animals. In this case its bio-luminescence and light. Lots of amazing animals are covered. The information included is everything from size comparisons, location on earth rangers, and interesting factoids. Well done, and well worth the read.

Different sea creatures with details about them and pictorial illustrations..........

Amazing World Sea Creatures
Encounter 20 Light-Up Animals
by Lee Martin
This is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
This is such a breathtakingly and enchanting book! The pictures are so appealing and captivating. The information is in small bite sizes to help the kids grasp the information easier. The creatures are alluring in their beauty and in their frightful forms. All are dazzling with the glowing lights, strangeness, and rare appearances. I loved the wonderful info and the great pictures. It will keep kids, teens, and adults going back to this book again and again. Great end table book, sure to get worn out! The book also comes with light-up stickers, a cute bonus.

***This book as reviewed for Quarto Publishing via Netgalley

Amazing World: Sea Creatures is full of beautiful sea life photos. Sections at the beginning look at bioluminescence, and how it works. Twenty different deep-sea beasties who use bioluminescence or fluorescence are looked at in greater depth, with fun facts and information on range, depth, size and diet. Many of these features are quite stunning, like the lanternsharks, firefly squid, and bobtail squid. A popular book in our household, Little Moon by Megan Padalecki, is about a bobtail squid. They are so adorable!

Others were the stuff of nightmares, like the gulper eel, and anglerfish. Anglers become more frightening when you read about how the females of many species absorb the males into their bodies, as basically they are only there to be baby daddies. Some females can have up to six (!) absorbed males. That is not okay. My cubs (and myself) were disturbed and saddened to read about the PCB and other human-caused contaminations present on the seafloors, even to the depths of the Mariana Trench and Challenger Deep. How to explain to young children that species alive now will be gone by the time they are grown, and it's humanity’s fault? Not a fun conversation.

While the younger ones enjoyed the pictures, and listening, the book itself is meant more for upper middle school, given the words used, such as bioluminescence, luciferase, and dinoflagellate. That was really my only qualm. Even for those readers, a pronunciation guide would be a great addition.

📚📚📚📚 Recommended for those with an interest in nature, especially sea creatures.

I don’t know how young this is meant for, but with plenty of percentages and words like bioluminescence bandied about on the first page, it can’t be for really small tykes.
There are plenty of photos and graphs. The firefly squid is intriguing, but if it wasn’t so colorful, it would feel like a textbook.

This is a great book for browsing, examining, and enjoying the wonders of the natural world, while learning about creatures that live in the depths of the ocean. For each creature there is a is a color photo, various stats, and some intriguing information. A brief introduction explains the nature of bioluminescence and how it enables creatures to communicate, look for food, lure prey, and defend themselves. Interesting nonfiction fare presented in an appealing way.

Who knew? A fascinating look at denizens of the deep. Gulper eels, hatchetfish, firefly squid, luminescent creatures and toothy fish to stay away from. How deep in the oceans they live, where they're usually found, what they eat and more--it's all here in this colorful, engaging book for nature lovers of all ages. Five stars.

I thought that this book was fantastic! The images were brilliant, so clear and detailed. The map and size of the creature comparison was great and it was crammed full of fun and interesting facts - 5 stars!!