The Science and Superpowers of Seaweed: A Guide for Kids, written by Amanda Swinimer. Harbour Publishing, 2023. $24.95 ages 10 and up

 

"Bull kelp is in the brown seaweed group. 
It is one of my favorite seaweeds. It looks 
like a mermaid if you see it underwater. 
Its stipe is a long, hollow tube that looks 
like the body and ends in a big, round 
bulb that looks like the head. The blades
flow behind it in the current, like long, 
beautiful hair."

My grandkids live in Sooke, which is where the author of this book for middle graders lives. Her love of seaweed and her marine biology background inspires her to explore the watery world where seaweed thrives and then teach others about the wonders of it. She is a certified seaweed harvester and spends much of her time in the ocean. 

Seaweeds have an impact on the health of the planet, and learning about their many benefits is an interesting pursuit. The book is divided into 7 sections: Introduction, What Is Seaweed, Harvesting Seaweed, Brown Seaweeds, Green Seaweeds and Exploring the Kelp Forest. Each section is filled with clear and easily accessible text, captioned photographs, informational sidebars, and inspiration to look closely for seaweed whenever the ocean is part of your travel plan, or if you live nearby. 

Icons are used to help readers find activities to try at home, and to indicate where each type of seaweed is found and in which ocean. While searching for seaweed, she explains that she also has chance meetings with wondrous sea creatures. 

"At the time I knew that the giant Pacific octopus is the 
largest kind of octopus in the world, but I didn't know 
a lot about octopuses, and the experience inspired me to 
read a book about them."

Isn't that the best thing about seeing new things, and wanting to know more. There are always books to inform and inspire a person to learn. Readers interested in knowing more about seaweed are sure to find it here. If looking to affect climate change, seaweed can be a game changer. I will share the book with my family when they are here in July and likely send it home with them. Then they, too, can make discoveries and try some of the activities suggested. Given that seaweeds are full of healthy vitamins and minerals, they might even give it a taste test. 

"So many kids, when they're exposed to seaweed, they become really, really interested and excited about it. But a lot of kids just never get that chance."