Looking for children’s books about ocean animals and sea life? Check out this list of wonderful living books and reference books about sea life.
Today I’m sharing some of our favorite children’s books about ocean animals and sea life. Use this list to explore the world underwater and learn about your favorite sea creatures.
Related: Beach-Themed Sensory Bin
This post contains affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here.
Living Books About Ocean Animals and Sea Creatures
Wings in the Water: The Story of a Manta Ray is a fun and informative story of a manta ray with beautifully detailed illustrations.
Octopus’ Den is the beautifully illustrated story of an octopus who encounters danger as he returns to his den.
Seal Pup Grows Up: The Story of a Harbor Seal – a Smithsonian Oceanic Collection Book follows a seal pup as he grows up with the help of his mother. This book is a wonderful read-aloud and a great resource for teaching children about sea mammals.
123…By the Sea is an adorable rhyming and counting book for summer.
Shark Lady is an autobiography that tells of the life and career of the ichthyologist whose interest in fish and the ocean began at just nine years old.
Where Should Turtle Be? narrates the story of a baby sea turtle who takes a wrong turn and then tries to find his way to his habitat. It is a delightful picture book and a wonderful read-aloud for teaching children.
Far from Shore: Chronicles of an Open Voyage is a non-fiction chronological picture book that follows the journey of the author, Sohpie Webb, and her shipmates exploring the ocean and its creatures.
Pagoo tells the story of a hermit crab from his first stages of life to living in Tide Pool Tide. This is a wonder and engaging story that describes life under the water.
Reference Books About Ocean Creatures
Ocean: A Visual Encyclopedia is a beautiful visual encyclopedia that explores the world’s waters.
Under the Sea is a great resource for early readers to read facts about selected sea creatures.
I love this list!!! We just completed our nursery with ocean/ocean animal theme so I can’t wait to check some of these out! If you haven’t checked out books by Sy Montgomery you definitely should – I’ve read a bunch of her adult books but she has a couple children’s books, specifically the octopus book, and they’re awesome.
Shark Lady and Where Should Turtle Be are definitely going on my grandson’s shelf. Summer is the perfect time for beach reads. I love the idea of hooking kids on summer reading from a very young age. Thank you for the recommendations.