Irving Independent School District

Sea Horses is another entry in the Life Cycle series of Blastoff! Readers. The book contains the usual elements of nonfiction, including a table of contents, a glossary, a bibliography, and a few diagrams. The photographs used to illustrate the text are stunning; particularly nice is the fact that many different types of sea horses are shown, rather than the same throughout as has been done in the Ladybug entry in the series. Bold print words can be located in the glossary at the back of the book. These nonfiction books are leveled. Sea Horses is a level 3 entry, which is designed to advance “early readers toward fluency through increased text and concept load, less reliance on visuals, longer sentences, and more literary language.” The title accomplishes most of these goals. The sentences are varied in their structure and vary in length. Although the photographs do dominate each page, the reader cannot get by with only looking at them to grasp the concepts presented. The subject matter is well covered, from the anatomy of a sea horse, its mating ritual, birth, defense mechanisms, diet, and stages of growth. The language is appropriate for the age level. The vocabulary, which can be slightly challenging to some, is not overwhelming. This title is a worthwhile purchase, particularly as a focus on life cycles in organisms.