CHILDREN OF THE SEA

A betwixt-and-between book which could also go in the higher levels of the 9-12's, for the bare bones of the story are simple, but length and vocabulary more difficult. The first part of the book takes up the life of a young dolphin, how Tursiops learns to take care of himself in the journey from Florida to Newfoundland waters to the Bahamas. The second part goes back a little to tell of the childhood of a little black boy in Nassau who has spent so much time in the water since before he was able to walk that he is half fish himself. In the third section, the little boy finds Tursiops, who is resting by a Nassau wharf, torn and bleeding from a battle with sharks. The boy takes care of him, they become friends, and dive and swim together. A could happen sort of story, packed with information on ocean creatures.