Lights On!: Glow-in-the-Dark Deep Ocean Creatures

by Donna B. McKinney, Daniella Ferretti (Illustrator)

Overview

A thrilling journey to the mysterious, dark world of the deep sea, where fascinating creatures make their own light!

Young readers will encounter the viperfish, that hunts with a blinking beacon to lead unsuspecting prey into its mouth; learn about the glowing fireworm, rising from the depths in a glowing cluster to search for a mate; discover how the bioluminescent vampire squid evades predators with its twinkling lights.

Join author Donna B. McKinney and illustrator Daniella Ferretti on a thrilling journey to the mysterious, dark world of the deep sea, where fascinating creatures make their own light!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781953458476
Publisher:	Yeehoo Press
Publication date:	04/25/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	372,369
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Donna B. McKinney has authored 17 nonfiction books for kids on topics ranging from science and technology to history to sports. Before she wrote for children, she wrote about topics like oceanography, chemistry, space science, and robotics at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. She has a B.A. from Campbell Universityand an M.A. in English (Professional Writing and Editing) from George Mason University.


Daniella Ferretti is a Chilean illustrator. She studied graphic design in Valparaíso and completed a Creative Illustration Degree in Barcelona. She was selected as part of the Ibero-American Illustration Catalog in 2016. She finds inpiration in nature, sea, walking, travels and daily life.

Editorial Reviews

2023-01-12
A gallery of luminescent ocean creatures, from tiny fireworms to toothy viperfish.

Strong on atmosphere (if not strict scientific accuracy), this book takes readers down where “sunlight cannot reach, / it’s so dark / and always night” to introduce the “quite peaceful” vampire squid and other creatures and briefly explain how they use the “superpower” of bioluminescence to defend against predators or to attract prey or mates. Ferretti gives her not-to-scale painted portraits an eerie shine by suspending them against black backgrounds but leaves too much of the daytime sky at the tops of most of the sideways, full spread scenes to give viewers a proper sense of oceanic depths—and in a nighttime setting, it’s unclear whether the tiny lights speckling the water’s smooth surface are supposed to represent plankton or reflected stars. (In either case, the author’s accompanying line, “At the ocean’s surface, all is darkness,” is flatly contradictory.) Flimsy flaps glued to select spreads do add an interactive element but are by and large superfluous; most reveal additional art or details when lifted but never hide more than part of the printed text and won’t be missed if (when) repeated flexing makes them fall off. Lisa Regan’s Glow Down Deep (2020) will do a more effective job of lighting up reader interest in the spooky and strange residents of this pelagic realm. There are no human figures.

Illuminating, if only fitfully, and hampered by problematic design choices. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews