Bubble Homes, Fish Farts and Snapping Shrimp

Charlesbridge out of Watertown, Massachusetts publishes some really awesome books for kids. A particular favorite of mine was their recent title, Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock with full-color illustrations by Carolyn Conahan.

While we all adore squishy, shimmery, floating bubbles, have you ever realized they make excellent homes for Water Spiders, are a fun place to hide for the Juniper Spittlebug (did you even know there was such a thing as a Juniper Spittlebug?) and make playtime fun for Bottlenose Dolphin? I especially enjoyed reading about Snapping Shrimp. Found in coral sneefs, these shrimp make a loud sound to scare animals away, communicate and also catch prey. The bubble they make by snapping their claws moves so quickly and with such great force that it produces a snapping sound as the bubble implodes upon itself. And we all thought we were so cool when we squirted water through our palms at our local swimming pool!

The charming illustrations help show exactly how bubbles work above and below the water when used by animals. Helpful, too, are more facts included on the endpages as well as a glossary and index. Oh, and if you noticed I left out the fart bit, it’s because you’ll just have to get the book to learn what that’s all about!