This delightful little book will have its young readers clamoring for a trip to the aquarium! With its amazing photos and concise text, students will find a wealth of information regarding the familiar and not-so-familiar aquatic creatures of the fresh water and saltwater environments.
With a nice mix of both male and female role models, students will be able to visualize exciting careers choices in this field. Added activities (For Creative Minds, Animal Fun Facts) let students further explore aquarium life. I recommend this book!
- Diana Wiig
"Animal Helpers looks at the many individuals that are needed to keep an aquarium running: aquarists, biologists, curators, and veterinarians. Clear crisp photographs show the peace of the underwater world."
-Susan E. Murray, formerly at Glendale Public Library, AZ
Color photos depict rescued aquatic animals being cared for in aquariums. Veterinarians, ichthyologists, and other aquatic biologists show how they care for and study injured salt- and fresh-water species before the text asks, "Would you like to work in an aquarium?"
“Could you transport whale sharks, work in a water quality lab, or feed sea otters?” Animal helpers who work in aquariums do those things. An aquarium is like a really big tank where you can see fresh and saltwater fish. I saw the Gentoo penguin. There is a picture of a sea lion which is brown and looks like a wet cat! The illustrations in this book are pictures so you could see what things really look like in an aquarium. Reading about the whale shark surprised me because he is so big. My favorite part was learning about the water quality lab. I liked this part because if we take care of the water, we can help take care of the fish. This book is special because it’s about animals that live in water which covers most of the Earth’s surface. You can visit a place to learn about these animals! I liked everything in the book because I love learning about animals. Boys and girls who like animals and swimming will enjoy this book.
Reviewed by Susan Faith, Age 6
This would be an excellent book to use with a child or an entire class before making a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or any such aquarium for that matter. Not only does the book feature the types of displays one would expect to see but it also offers a behind-the-scenes look at what the staff and volunteers do.
Most youngsters find aquatic animals fascinating, and Jennifer Keats Curtis’s text is accompanied by full-color photographs of the various creatures mentioned, including different kinds of fish, mammals, and birds. The four pages of “For Creative Minds” learning activities include further information on aquarium jobs, a match the animal exercise, a true-false quiz, and some “Animal Fun Facts.” More free, downloadable activities are available online at the publisher’s website. Children will enjoy reading Animal Helpers: Aquariums about the wondrous world of aquariums and the animal helpers who work there.
In “Animal Helpers: Aquariums,” Jennifer Keats Curtis takes the reader through a visual field trip of aquariums where viewers visit fresh and salt water marine life through photographs and learn how helpers care for these creatures. The author uses simplistic language that primary grade students will understand while enjoying the photographs. Arbordale Publishing includes online resources that teachers can use to align with the Common Core Curriculum.
- Tamara Reed, Library Media Specialist, Emmitsburg Elementary School
This is a fun, interesting book about people who work in aquariums that young people will love. The layout is very vibrant with full-color, full-page photographs that often span two pages. There are numerous framed photographs that accent particular aquarium species that are quite stunning. For example we see a Mandarinfish, a Garibaldi, scalloped hammerhead, and a walleye. Newly independent readers can tackle this beginning nonfiction book with a bit of assistance with unusual words such as “Indonesian” (jellyfish). In the back of the book are animal fun facts and several activities, including some that can be downloaded and printed from the publisher’s website. This would be an excellent book to read and discuss in the homeschool or classroom setting.
After reading, Animal Helper: Aquariums by Jennifer Keats Curtis I have many children in my second grade class who have decided that working with animals would be a wonderful job. The photos are so engaging and the variety of jobs is so interesting that my students were able to understand all the possibilities available to help and work with animals. We especially liked the back of the book where we read about animal fun facts and the true or false quiz. As a teacher, I was thrilled to read a nonfiction book that created such enthusiasm and prompted so much discussion. I used the book as a springboard to do some writing and research on several of the animals featured. I would highly recommend this book!
- Anne Phillips, Joppa View Elementary School Perry Hall, MD
As in her previous books in this series (we have read Wildlife Rehabilitators and Zoos), you can expect wonderful photographs of life in an aquarium as well as great information for young animal lovers in your life.
Aquariums are an amazing place to view fresh and salt water animals up close. Children and adults alike learn different ways to educate themselves and learn more about specific animals and how to conserve their species. You'll find in an aquarium many different jobs and volunteering opportunities available.
The vibrant photography through out this book keeps the reader engaged from start through finish. Aquariums all over the United States are photographed.
Student activities in the "For Creative Minds" section get kids thinking about careers they might not have ever heard of, such as herpetology and aviculture. Landlocked students also get exposed to animal life they might never see otherwise, and the engaging style of the book's layout is appealing for all ages. As a read aloud, the pictures hold kids' attention while listening to facts in this nonfiction book. The text is easy to read for even early readers, but the subject matter is universal, so older reluctant readers will not feel they are reading a "babyish" book with Animal Helpers.