| City Fish, Country Fish by Mary M. Cerullo Photography by Jeffrey L. Rotman Tilbury House Publishers, Gardiner, Maine (May, 2012) ISBN 978-0-88448-323-6 Hardcover, 32 pages, $16.95 Reviewed by Nancy Griffin |
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City Fish, Country Fish is a book for children that doesn’t talk down to them, but manages to provide lots of information about fish in an engaging and beautiful manner.
The author calls the reef fish of tropical waters “city fish,” whose habitat, like the city, never sleeps. The relentless activity keeps the denizens more dependent on each other than the “country fish”—those who swim through cold oceans, and who are better at being loners than their city cousins.
Jeffrey L. Rotman’s photography is stunning. He began his career as a teacher using undersea photography as a way to reward the hard work of his middle-school students. Finally, he turned to photography full-time. His work has appeared in many magazines and this is just one of several books he has illustrated, including a coffee-table book on sharks.
Mary Cerullo, associate director of Friends of Casco Bay in Maine, has written 14 nonfiction books for children on ocean life. Also a former teacher, her collaboration with Rotman began a few years ago when she accompanied him to a dive on reef sharks.
In the first section, Cerullo explains the city fish/country fish concept. Next the book illustrates the difference in the colors of the two habitats, then shows the living spaces the fish occupy and how their different body shapes fit their refuges. The next pictures illustrate the symbiosis between different members of the species, such as the cleaner fish who cleans food particles from the teeth of a moray eel.
Another form of protective symbiosis is the “school” in which many cold water fish travel. “Being in a school is like being in a huge parade,” Cerullo writes. “Fish keep together through sight, sound and feel.”
The “Secrets of Survival” section shows how fish adapt to their habitat, such as the parrotfish’s teeth that fused together over time to form a “beak” for gnawing through hard coral to reach tiny plants inside.
The book then takes readers through the predators, including man, and the similarities as well as the differences between the warm water and cold water fish. At the end of the book, the author writes about the importance of the ocean’s health for the fish and the people who depend on it.
Finally, there’s a glossary of useful terms and a list of books students could read to further their knowledge of fish. It’s a book clearly designed to engage teachers as well as their students.
Tilbury House’s children’s books are aimed at 7-12-year-olds, and Cerullo’s book can be read and enjoyed by the younger ones but provides enough information to stimulate a desire for further knowledge by the older ones.
Note: The book will not be available for purchase until May.
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