Squidtoons

Review: Squidtoons: Exploring Ocean Science With Comics

An excellently-presented and lovingly illustrated guide to life undersea, SQUIDTOONS will excite young readers (both those still in the read-to-me stage, and older children who delight in reading on their own) and adults (parents and educators alike) with its winning ways and gentle approach to science education. In comic format with substantial text and lovely illustrations, gaining knowledge is so easy. Readers of any age can learn much about the mysterious and fascinating undersea world.

Have you ever heard of Seadragons? I never have. Apparently they are part of the same family as Sea Horses, and they have the same style of having the male incubate the eggs. And that creature is only the first of many to be introduced in this book.

The science facts are fun, and beautifully drawn. There are bits of humor thrown in, and the pictures are colorful, and very informative.

This is an excellent book for both home and class room use. What a marvelous way to present life under the sea.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-360" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-06-at-2.00.32-PM.png" alt="" />

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

If the cover and title of Squidtoons doesn't demand attention, the idea of exploring and learning about ocean science with comics should. What a clever way to merge science, reading, and engagement- leading to new learning and the deepening of ocean knowledge. From the fluent funny and informative text and illustrations, to the talking bubbles discourse between three species of seadragons, to the pages with comics in panels, this book offers a lot to admire. The pages are filled with fictional action snapshots that reveal interesting facts about ocean life and the creatures that inhabit it. This book has a wide age appeal and is the ultimate example of the possibilities of a STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, Math) mindset towards teaching. This belongs as a mentor text in science classrooms, grade kindergarten through high school. In kindergarten writers learn about talking bubbles. After learning about a seadragon or a horseshoe crab, I could see writers drawing the animal and adding words to a talking bubble. Comics and graphic novels are fantastic portals to new schema, enhancing the readers abilities as a writer, and deepening their reading comprehension strategies between every page and panel, and effective non fiction access feature (table of contents, bold words, diagrams, labels). This will appeal to many of learners, and I highly recommend it for classroom and library shelves.

What an absolute delight! This is such a fun way to educate little ones on ocean life. I thought the art style was beautifully vibrant that really worked well with the ocean setting. I giggled out loud many times. I'd highly recommend this!

The Science Comics from First Second have been a huge hit in my library, and I fully expect this similarly styled book to do just as well. Presenting science through comics makes learning so much more fun for kids and even if they don't get all the jokes (because let's be real, they don't always) they enjoy it and therefore learn more and I'm a fan of that!

I downloaded what turned out to be a sampler from Net Galley.
The sampler only looks at the sea dragons and while it's nicely drawn, I did not need to be told several times over that sea dragons are not related to actual dragons. A more useful aspect would be what dangers they face in the sea from predation and environmental despoliation. Some interesting facts are related with notes about species and camouflage.
The brightly coloured pictures will entertain young children but I suggest the book is good for pre-teens.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

A lovely beginning of a book but I cannot give an honest review without the full edition. I did adore the small maps.

Squidtoons: Exploring Ocean Science with Comics by Garfield Kwan is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I only received a sample of 31 pages and I wanted more! This book is so awesome!!! It has the most adorable illustrations with cute cartoons to emphasize the information that is displayed. The information is also relayed in a fun way too. Kids will love this. I loved it and I am certain no kid. This is sure to be a hit! Who doesn't love sea life and comics anyway?

Cute, humorous, and memorable science lessons

Squidtoons has it all: cute colorful illustrations, quirky kid-friendly humor, and fun science lessons. The NetGalley proof only included the seadragons section but it was enough to see that Squidtoons hits it out of the park with oceanography, biology, and strange sea life. The information is presented in such a way with humorous asides that the facts will stick with children long after they’ve finished reading the book. The vivid pictures with their clear prominence of key animal features will also stay with readers.

Squidtoons is too much fun and highly recommended for anyone with kids interested in any of the subjects covered or science in general, and for those parents who have kids who might not be interested in science but who find comics quite the cat’s meow. I think teachers and librarians would find this book in high demand. Highly recommended.

I received a sample of this book as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. My opinions are my own.