PICTURE BOOK: NONFICTION (ages 7-10)
Brief Description: This book covers the development of cod fishing and the effects of overfishing in general. Told with accompanying illustrations, the book relates the story of the cod and how it came to be a huge industry on the continental shelves around the Atlantic Ocean.
Awards: Orbis Pictus Award
Personal Opinion: The illustrations and accompanying text dramatically portray first the habitat, lifecycle and enemies of the cod - which is a perfect segue into the story of how Cod's greatest enemy, man, has exploited the fishing of the cod to near extinction. I hadn't realized the part the Basques played in the waters off North America; because they did not plant a flag, they lost their fishing rights to Britain and France. I enjoyed The Story of Salt, and was delighted to read another of Kurlansky's books, however frightening the outcome of overfishing.
Curriculum/Programming: I would include this book on a display of books on fishing, and would also add it as required reading for a science curriculum on the study of sustaining the Earth's resources.
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