Monday, October 26, 2020

World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky

 

    A warning to the people of the world, Mark Kurlansky’s World Without Fish is a middle school introduction to what is going on with the fish in the world’s oceans, the history of how it got to this point, and what will happen if we don’t drastically change our ways. This 1160 Lexile book seems perfect in tone and voice for grades 5th through 8th grade.


(Kurlansky, 2011, p. x-xi)


    Kurlansky heavily mentions and quotes Charles Darwin throughout the book, falling back onto many of his thoughts on the Darwinian order of life. He writes that, “all life on earth is interconnected, and altered circumstances will change the order of life at sea, which will also change life on land. And all of this can and will have an enormous impact on our lives,” (Kurlansky, 2011, p. xvii).


(Kurlansky, 2011, p. xx-xxi)


    Throughout the book, the text is interwoven with oversized, emphasized text to draw attention to more important lines. illustrator Frank Stockton’s illustrations and end of chapter comic strips are woven into the book along with the occasional photograph. All of these visual features are enticing and may be a draw for more reluctant, tween readers. 


(Kurlansky, 2011, p. 62)


    Kurlansky’s book mainly emphasizes overfishing. He does a great job explaining the main types of different fish, why/how human fish for them, and how messing with any area on a large scale has an impact on other areas of the ocean. I found myself interested in the science aspects of this book that discussed things such as fish being commercially extinct vs. biologically extinct, misconceptions about fish reproduction in the 1800s have lead to how we fish today, different areas of the ocean’s fish impact the movement of other fish, and that we can’t just stop fishing to solve the overfishing problem.


    The point that Kurlanksy gets at is that fishing needs to be done in a sustainable way. Regulations need to happen. However, Kurlanksy notes that sustainable fishing is not the only issue to solving the problem. “Part of the problem is that we too easily forget that all of human activity, not only fishing, affects marine life. For centuries, pollution--human waste, garbage, the poisonous by-products of industry--were dumped into the sea,” (Kurlanksy, 2011, p. 119). The author discusses the impact on fish with large scale oil spills, plastics, and poisonous metals that have been dumped into the oceans.


(Kurlansky, 2011, p. 132-133)


    Lastly, Kurlansky points out climate change’s impact on the world’s oceans. He discusses how the manmade greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution are warming the planet. The fossil fuels we burn are increasing the temperature of the planet. These temperature changes will cause arctic ice to melt, diluting the salt levels in the oceans that the fish live in. When the temperatures warm, fish will migrate to different areas, some unable to survive the temperature changes. Also, temperature often triggers reproduction in fish so these temperature changes to the oceans would have an impact on fish populations from that point as well. 


    Having middle schoolers read a text like this will help open their eyes to the impact humans have had on our planet. Talking about the problems surrounding overfishing, pollution, and climate change are important conversations to have with youth. In the end pages, Kurlansky offers how young people can help by eating only sustainable fish, joining environmental protection groups, and studying previous activism movements in history.


(Kurlansky, 2011, p. 180-181)


   End pages of the text include information on Environmental groups that work on marine issues, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch’s National Sustainable Seafood Guide, tips on starting movements, and an extensive index. Unfortunately, no researching citations are included. I would have liked to have seen a bibliography of sources used to write the book by the author, a former commercial fisherman who has won numerous writing awards.


Non-fiction read-alikes about climate change:

  • The Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming by Laurie David & Cambria Gordon: Loaded with photographs, statistics, illustrations, and informational graphics, this text shows young tweens and teens the basics of global warming as well as changes they can make at home. (4th - 7th grade)

  • Ice: Chilling Stories From A Disappearing World by Laura Buller: This text highlights the effects that the earth’s arctic poles have on the planet and the species that live here. The history of the earth’s ice is explained up to modern times with how climate change is depleting ice. (5th to 8th grade)

  • How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate by Lynne Cherry: A look into how scientists study climate change with the clues they look for described including bird migration patterns, fruit blossoming times, core samples, and more. Also includes ways to mitigate climate change. (5th to 8th grade)

  • Rising Seas: Flooding, Climate Change and Our New World by Keltie Thomas: What would happen if sea levels rise to due ice caps melting? This book picks a few locations in the world to hone and describes the current status of these locations and how they will change if sea levels rise as predicted. (5th to 8th grade)

  • An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming (YA Adaptation) by Al Gore: The former Vice President’s young adult adaptation of his publication of the same name, this version has large full color photographs, graphs, and simplified wording to explain to the middle school aged what causes global warming. (6th to 9th grade)


Related non-fiction titles:

  • Cast Away: Poems for Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye: A collection of 80 poems, mostly in free verse, about how we discard our trash. Written by the Poetry Foundation’s current (2019-2021) Young People’s Poet Laureate. (4th to 7th grade)

  • True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet by Kim McCay & Jenny Bonnin: Offers projects that kids can do to help reduce, reuse, and recycle in their lives as well as how to conserve energy, make conscious decisions on things that affect the planet, and how to get others involved. (4th to 6th grade)

  • Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who Are Helping to Protect Our Planet by Harriet Rohmer: Showcasing 12 North American activists, most of these stories are grassroots events, protests, and ideas done or designed by young people to bring awareness to environmental issues. (5th to 7th grade)

  • One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet by Anuradha Rao: Written by a conservation biologist, interviews are shared from people around the world of all backgrounds as they explain the diverse ways they are doing to protect the earth. (7th to 10th grade)


Fiction read-alikes:

  • The Light in the Lake by Sarah R. Baughman: Pollution and conservation are discussed in this early middle grade read, as a young girl struggling with the death of her twin brother investigates the changes she sees in a lake. (4th to 6th grade)

  • Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar: As a 5th and 7th grader cut through the woods to avoid a bully, they discover mysterious mud that threatens their town. A bit of environmental sci-fi and the consequences of mutations. (5th to 7th grade)

  • Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick: With short chapters and lots of suspense, two kids from a camp in Maine flee from a devastating wildfire that rapidly spreads behind them. Back matter includes information on wildfires and survival tips. (5th to 8th grade)

  • Flush by Carl Hiaasen: Noah’s dad is thrown in jail trying to sink a boat that is illegally dumping sewage into the water. He takes matters into his own hands to try and stop the casino boat’s pollution. (5th to 8th grade)

  • Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi: Winner of the 2011 Printz Award, this futuristic, dystopian novel depicts global warming getting out of control and the disasters that ensue from hurricanes. Action, packed adventure novel for older tweens and teens. (7th to 10th grade)


Environmentalism Book Lists:


More by Mark Kurlansky:

  • The Cod's Tale by Mark Kurlansky: The history and story behind mankind’s interaction with Atlantic cod told through narrative, paintings, and funny sketches. (4th to 6th grade)

  • The Story of Salt by Mark Kurlansky: A history of salt for young readers that includes information through graphics, maps, diagrams, timelines, and more. (4th to 6th grade)

  • Bugs in Danger: Our Vanishing Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles by Mark Kurlansky: The bug version of World Without Fish, this book discusses the insects at risk of disappearing because of humans for the middle grade audience as well. (5th to 8th grade)

  • Frozen in Time: Clarence Birdseye's Outrageous Idea About Frozen Food by Mark Kurlansky: A biography for middle schoolers of Clarence Birdseye, the inventor of frozen food, this book is adapted from Kurlansky’s adult version, Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man. (5th to 8th grade)


    Teachers and educators may find lesson plans at Kids Read, TedEd, and Sailors of the Sea useful for the classroom on environmental issues related to Kurlansky’s book. PBS Learning Media’s Young Voices for the Planet film series has a great list of videos including young people working to make a change for the planet, and their Charles Darwin page provides a great overview to his studies on species interaction with the planet. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Student Guide to Global Climate Change is loaded with climate change information. The following videos on YouTube may be of use as well to share with students:


    Ocean conservation and/or sustainable fishing information can be found at Oceana, the Ocean Conservatory’s Action Center, the Nature Conservancy, the Ocean Collective’s Resource Center, Blue Ventures, Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman’s Association, and the Marine Stewardship Council which also labels fish that are caught by sustainable means with their logo. Youth interested in climate activism can visit Young Voices for the Planet or iMatter.

    Professional book reviews for World Without Fish can be found at Science Connected Magazine, Discover Magazine, and Kirkus Reviews. It has also been recommended by The Scientific American and the Beijing Kids Panda Book Awards.


References


Kurlansky, M. (2011). World without fish. Workman Publishing.
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4 comments:

  1. SwimTrekOctober 27, 2020 at 4:17 PM

    What a great book for not only the age group you mentioned it's intended for, but also high school and adults. I've already put this on my TBR list, as well as all the other books you mentioned in your read alikes. Even the fiction ones sound really good.

    This book hit really close to home. My sister is an avid environmentalist and has had a great influence on my kids. She's been a vegetarian for over 20 years and my husband as well for almost 10 years. Their reason, because of the cruel treatment of animals and the unsustainable way fish were harvested.

    As you said, this would be great to use in the classroom for the climate unit in science. Also when discussing activism in social studies class.

    Great and informative review. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention.

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    Replies
    1. Laura McCormickOctober 27, 2020 at 4:42 PM

      My sister (a 7th grade teacher) is the one that brought it to my attention initially. She had been really excited to use it as one of their grade wide reads, but, unfortunately, they were prohibited from using it in the classroom by their grade wide book selection committee because of the Charles Darwin mentions. (What!?) I think it would be excellent to use in a classroom setting! I agree that high schoolers and adults could learn from this book as well.

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    2. Laura McCormickOctober 27, 2020 at 4:46 PM

      BTW, another book I saw that seemed really good but was recommended to older readers (so I didn't include it) was Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines by Paul Fleischman. The Kirkus review for it can be found here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/paul-fleischman/eyes-wide-open-fleischman/

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    3. SwimTrekNovember 21, 2020 at 12:05 PM

      Wow, didn't realize this book would be on the Banned Book List. Isn't evolution taught in science classes? So why would this book be any different? 'Survival of the fittest' is also connected to the environment and how people interact with it.

      Thanks for the suggesting Eyes Wide Open. Another one to be added to my TBR list.

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