
I can recall the joy that a new bottle of bubbles brought me as a child. Small bubbles, large bubbles, double-bubbles and waves of rainbow bubbles. Those floaty shimmery bubbles were magical to me. But it was not until I read this new title by Fiona Bayrock that I realized how magical they were for animals, too!
The violet sea snail can’t swim. Guess what their mode of transportation is? Yes! They sail on bubbles.
Most sea animals have a thick layer of fat that insulates them from the cold. Unfortunately, sea otters do not have this gift. How do sea otters stay warm? Yes! Bubbles! They blow bubbles and move the water to make even more bubbles. They rub the bubbles into their fur. Their fur is designed to keep air bubbles in and cold water out.
And how about the title of the book? Thousands of herring gather each evening near the ocean’s surface and release streams of bubbles from their backsides. You might think the herring have some major digestion issues. Not so. We learn in this book that scientists think the herring use their fish farts as a way to communicate to each other without alerting predators.
Fiona Bayrock shares a total of sixteen ways in which bubbles are magical for animals in this book. The back matter includes several additional "bubble-maker" facts and a glossary defining several great vocabulary words found throughout the text. Carolyn Conahan’s soft watercolors were the perfect choice to capture the beauty and magic of each creature and bubble.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF.
The “writing me” thumbnail sketch goes like this: I've been writing professionally for about eight years, mostly quirky science books and magazine articles for kids. I typically write in a conversational style, come at subjects from unusual angles, and season with generous helpings of humour, onomatopoeia, and kid-friendly similes. I have fun with whatever I’m working on. Family and theatre are the other big parts of my life.WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS FOR NONFICTION COME FROM?
Everywhere! …the news, my backyard, friends and family, questions kids ask at school visits, things I’m curious about. I never know when an idea is going to come zinging along. It can happen any time. And I do mean *any* time—while driving, sleeping, or conditioning my hair in the shower have all happened to me.The idea for Bubble Homes and Fish Farts came about one day when I tripped over four examples of animal bubbles: dolphin bubble rings (magazine article), water spider bubble home (book), spittlebugs (mygarden), fish farts (a new discovery at a local university). I found it fascinating that these four animals used bubbles in such unusual ways and I wondered if other animals did too. After a little snooping, I had a nice little picture-book-size list of bubbly animals.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE HARDEST PART ABOUT WRITING?
Getting the first draft down. I love doing it, but that’s the one step that definitely feels like work to me. After that, the process of moving words around, auditioning verbs, and tightening, tightening, tightening is so much like playing, I sometimes feel giddy with pleasure (and a bit guilty) at how much fun I’m having. Oh, what a word nerd, I am, eh!?
WHAT IS THE STRANGEST FACT YOU HAVE LEARNED?
Ever? Oh, man, every project seems to reveal facts stranger than the last. It’s one of things I love about writing nonfiction. Some facts are so bizarre that if you said you’d made them up and then published them as fiction, no one would believe it.Bubble Homes and Fish Farts is full of strange and unusual facts, but if I have to choose one as The Coolest Strange Fact, it would have to be the star-nosed mole. This critter sniffs air to follow scents as a dog would, except the star-nosed mole does it underwater by blowing bubbles from its nose and then breathing them back in. The mole follows the scent in the bubble air to find its prey.