Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Messner describes the threatened Florida Keys coral reefs and the efforts of one man--Ken Nedimyer, founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation--to restore them to health and vigor. Forsythe's illustrations are a unique take on tropical waterscapes, juxtaposing kaleidoscopic color washes with dark and light foundational structures to capture details of the corals and their protectors. "How Can Kids Help?" section is appended. Reading list, websites. Glos. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The story of Ken Nedimeyer's brilliant idea and his work to restore troubled coral reefs.Nedimeyer, son of a NASA engineer, grew up exploring Florida's underwater world. As an adult, he became aware that the coral reefs he had loved were fading, even dying. He experimented with transplanting staghorn corals that had grown in his live rock farm. The transplants grew and became the impetus for his founding of the Coral Restoration Foundation, which now works internationally. Aimed at quite young readers and listeners, Messner's hopeful tale begins with the one coral gamete that can found a colony and ends with an image of this one man whose efforts have spurred restoration. In between, she touches on how corals grow and form an underwater community and how this white scientist worked with his daughter and others to rebuild the reefs. In Over and Under the Pond (illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal, 2017) and other titles aimed at slightly older readers, the author has depicted habitats with convincing details about the animals. Here, it's the pictures that portray the colorful underwater world; the text places more emphasis on a human's background and his process. The unusual palette and soft edges of Forsythe's large-scale illustrations add mystery to the marine world and will show well.A charming piece of environmental good news for storytime. (Informational picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.