• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

We're all connected to the ocean, and the ocean to us.

The ocean provides half the oxygen we breathe; it feeds us, creates our weather and provides us with water. But we haven't been as kind to the ocean in return. The problems are many: pollution, overfishing, rising seas and acid waters. What can be done? Don't despair; take action. Dive In! explores our intimate connection with the ocean and provides every reader with an achievable set of actions that can help improve ocean health for our sake and the sake of the millions of marine plants and animals that share the planet with us. Filled with colorful photos and positive stories, Dive In! is as informative as it is inspirational.

Novelist and biologist Ann Eriksson combines her background in ecology with her life experiences to create works of fiction populated with rich characters and grounded in nature. She is the author of the novels In the Hands of Anubis(2009), Decomposing Maggie(2003) and Falling from Grace(2010), which received the Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medal for Western Canadian Fiction. Ann was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in the Canadian Prairie provinces, eventually migrating to the West Coast in the late seventies.

Ann Eriksson's profile page

• Short-listed, The Nature Generation Green Earth Book Award
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection

"Concise and still thorough, this is a solid addition to a wide-ranging and ecologically conscious series. "

Kirkus Reviews

"This book is relevant to all…has all the prerequisites of a good information book: well researched, well organized, timely, and appropriate for intended audience. The text is engaging, the layout appealing supplemented with relevant photographs and side bars…highly recommended for both school and public libraries."

Resource Links

"A lively, up-to-date and thought-provoking book that should readily engage young readers and encourage them to consider their role in ocean preservation, for its health and their own. A timely read for anyone! Highly Recommended. "

CM Magazine

“More timely than ever, this book creates awareness and gives kids tools to examine our relationship with oceans. Budding divers and marine scientists will love this practical guide!”

The International Educator

"A passionate plea for young readers to start enjoying, protecting, and preserving our oceans…The brief chapters are divided into manageable subsections, and full-color photos and sidebars appear on every page. References are provided for student researchers, and there's sufficient visual appeal to entice browsers. International in scope, this is a hopeful and appealing call to action."

Booklist

“It is a fine example of excellence in the field of informative text for young people...Kids can do much to help. Ms. Eriksson shows them how in an impassioned and very personal way through her own lifelong love of the water and her many efforts to discover its bounty.”

Sal's Fiction Addiction

"An empowering philosophy is found in Dive In!…Clearly written chapters explain why we should not take oceans for granted, and lots of relatable and memorable examples are provided…For global citizens in training, Eriksson's mantra—'Everything is connected to everything else'—is a significant and heartening concept to ponder."

Quill & Quire

“The accessible text is well illustrated with captioned color photographs.”

The Horn Book Online