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Announcing The 8 Most Absolutely Amusing Books Of Poems About The Ocean

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Spoiler Alert: Witty poems and amazing artwork make it smooth sailing into the land of magical poetry for kids. The ocean covers two-thirds of our planet; it is Earth’s largest ecosystem, full of organisms living in wildly different and even extreme environments. This clever collection of poems about the ocean for kids describes the devious and even surprising methods ocean dwellers use to forage for food, capture prey, or trick predators. The poems bob easily from page to page. Within these luxurious words, you will travel from the snail shell home of the jeweled anemone crab to a raft of violet snails hanging upside down in their bubble houses.

one image of a girl with diving mask and snorkel at the beach holding up a starfish and another of an octopus underwater - suggesting the idea of ocean poetry for kids

By The Sea (also known as I Started Early – I researched but couldn’t find anything mentioning the official title), by Emily Dickinson is so much fun where mermaids come out from the basement! Let’s get our ocean poetry juices flowing with this telling:

If you’ve ever dreamed about tall ships on the deep sea or felt that you had ocean fever – you and your beach-loving kids will have so much fun reading even one of these selections. I suggest checking them out at your local library, or using the links that I’ve provided below for convenience.

  1. Friends and Anemones: Ocean Poems for Children

    FRIENDS AND ANEMONES: Ocean Poems for Children, is a fun and informative collection of original poems and art by New England authors and illustrators. Hands join fins in an adventure through kelp forests to meet sea otters and whales. Attend an underwater birthday party! Voyage through tempests to bottom-of-the-ocean volcanos and mysterious creatures in the deep, deep darkness. 

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  2. Deep Sea Poetry: For Children

    In this book, children will learn ten basic poetry forms as they dive into an underwater adventure theme. These fun ocean illustrations will allow their imaginations to swim free, while exploring their poetic talents. In addition, children will be able to read and use the definitions at the end of the book to write their own poems.

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  3. No Worries Whale: A Book of Ocean Poems

    Our remarkable world doesn’t end at the shore,come learn about the ocean like never before!It is filled with more than just whales and fish, some of them can dance and do magic tricks.Read their stories, some big and some small. Pirates and superheroes, come meet them all!Learn about the creatures who swim, crawl and slink.And find out if sharks are as mean as you think.Travel with a turtle or a humpback that sings. Learn about the ocean and recycling things. 

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  4. At the Sea Floor Café: Odd Ocean Critter Poems

    What’s on the menu for undersea creatures? Bulion’s clever collection of poems describes the devious and surprising methods ocean denizens use to forage for food, capture prey, and trick predators. Poems bobble and swim effortlessly from page to page, leading readers from the snail shell home of the jeweled anemone crab to a raft of violet snails hanging upside down in their bubble houses.

    The book also features rich back matter, including science notes with details about each animal’s behavior, a glossary, and poetry notes explaining the types and forms of poems that appear on each spread. Leslie Evans’s striking linoleum prints round out this title, which is perfect for cross-curricular learning.


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  5. Water Sings Blue: (Blue Book of Ocean and Water, Books for Kids about Sea Castles)

    Come down to the shore with this rich and vivid celebration of the ocean! With watercolors gorgeous enough to wade in by award-winning artist Meilo So and playful, moving poems by Kate Coombs, Water Sings Blue evokes the beauty and power, the depth and mystery, and the endless resonance of the sea.

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  6. Sea Star Wishes

    Selected as a Children's Poet Laureate Monthly Book Pick, Sea Star Wishes captures the varied and colorful world of our beautiful coastal shores. Discover the wonders of the sea and enjoy a day at the beach in playful and imaginative poetry and illustrations.


    In these coastal poems for kids, children meet sea lions, starfish, jellyfish, and other animals in the ocean, and dream about sandcastles and other beach activities.

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  7. In the Sea

    In striking woodcut illustrations, diverse creatures glide through blue and green waters, while succinct, witty poetry examines their behavior and interactions. In this companion volume to On the Farm and In the Wild, David Elliott and Holly Meade explore the depths of the ocean in a collection of poems sure to thrill budding oceanographers and landlubbers alike.

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  8. Ocean Soup: Tide-Pool Poems (Rise and Shine)

    When the tide goes out, a briny soup is trapped among the rocks. Playful poems introduce readers to ten salty tide-pool creatures--from a self-satisfied anemone that brags about its home to barnacles that perform a rap about their feeding technique. The poems are brought to life by Mary Peterson's lighthearted illustrations.


    A secondary layer of factual text introduces children to the creatures that inhabit North American tide pools.

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Beyond Poems About The Ocean to Marine Biology & Oceanography

If you love the idea of poetry about the ocean – you’ll love these other resources for learning even more about the ocean. Check out books about the ocean’s animals – known as marine biology. There are also books about the ocean’s floor, exploring the parts of the ocean that have hardly been explored, and so much more – known as oceanography. Summer is a great time to do some of this learning that is on such a fun topic! Kids won’t even know that they are learning!

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image of a happy young girl at the beach holding a starfish - concept of poems about the ocean