A few years ago a Steller sea lion was found orphaned on an island off the northern California coast. With the intervention of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, that sea lion pup survived and became the inspiration for the children's book, Astro The Steller Sea Lion by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Shennen Bersani.
Astro The Steller Sea Lion tells the story of how Astro was found and cared for until he was ready to be released back into the ocean. However, Astro had other ideas and kept returning to land and the people who had cared for him. Through the determination of the staff of the Marine Mammal Center and other marine mammal-friendly organizations, Astro was able to be trained to live happily and safely away from the ocean that is his natural habitat.
This is a great book for children of all ages. It can be used to teach about marine mammals and the care that is provided when they are unable to return to their natural environment. Along with the engaging story of Astro, the illustrations are amazing and incredibly realistic. Author Jeanne Walker Harvey lives in Marin County and has written several articles about marine animals. Illustrator Shennen Bersani is from the Boston, Massachusetts area and most often uses colored pencils, crayons, and paint to create her artwork.
Besides the amazing story of Astro, this book also includes an educational section that provides information on Steller sea lions and links to Sylvan Dell Publishing's interactive quizzes, teaching activities, and other websites to extend the learning of Astro The Steller Sea Lion.
This book is available online at powells.com and barnesandnoble.com and at independent retailers like the northern California ones listed here.
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Publisher: SylvanDellPublishing (August 10, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1607180766
List Price: $16.95
Bookworm
8544 Madison Avenue
Fair Oaks, California 95628-3809
(916) 961-0542
Copperfield's Books
3900-A Bel Aire Plaza
Napa, California 94558
(707) 252-8002
Booksmith
615 San Anselmo Ave
San Anselmo, California 94960
1-415-459-7323
The San Francisco Children's Fiction Examiner received a copy of this book free of charge from illustrator Shennen Bersani. The opinions and comments made here are 100% those of the Examiner and no compensation was provided to the Examiner in exchange for this review.
Comments
This book sounds like a great one! I'm sure my son would love it since he loves sea lions and marine life :)
Think we"ll have to add this to our collection- my daughter would love this book!
Another one of your great book – field trip, day trip, family travel pairings. I love sea lions, otters, seals, etc., so Astro The Steller Sea Lion would be a great book for me to buy my niece. And I'd think it would be a good book to have for a trip to Sea World, for instance, as well as the Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito.
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