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Product Description Along summer beaches, shells beckon with their timeless beauty and wonder. They provide protection for many ocean animals, populate colorful coral reefs, and sometimes surprise with a pearl inside! Fabulous interactive features and fun facts abound in this unique summertime pop-up book. About the Author Janet Lawler resides in Connecticut, USA. Her award-winning fiction and nonfiction children's books have appeared in the Scholastic Book Clubs, the Children's Book of the Month Club, and in translation editions that include Spanish, Japanese, Hebrew, French, Arabic, Indonesian, and Korean. Her nonfiction picture book, Ocean Counting (National Geographic) was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2014 by the National Science Teachers' Association. Visit her website at janetlawler.com/ to sign up for her blog and learn more about Janet and her books. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Page 1: Shells glimmer in summer sunshine. They inspire curiosity and wonder. Flap 1: A shell found on a beach is the hard outer covering left after an ocean animal dies or moves out. Some beach sand is made of tiny bits of shells. Calcium is the substance that makes most seashells hard. Page 2: Their varying sizes, shapes and colors delight and intrigue. Flap 1: Many shells shimmer and change colors in different light. This is call iridescence. Flap 2: Nautilus shells form in tight whorls. Flap 3: Snail shells spiral in many sizes and colors. Page 3: Beneath the waves, animals are protected by shells. Flap 1: A hermit crab protects its soft body by moving into an empty shell. Flap 2: Some shells blend in with sand, rocks, and plants to help the animal hide. Decorator crabs attach live plants or animals to their shells for camouflage. Page 4: These hard coverings don't always provide safety from predators. Flap 1: Grouper fish have crushing teeth plates for eating shelled animals such as crabs. Flap 2: Powerful jaw muscles help some sea turtles eat clams, crabs, and conches. Flap 3: An octopus has a short, hard beak to crunch on crabs and other shelled animals. Page 5: Vibrant coral reefs showcase many shells. Flap 1: Reefs are formed as shell-like coverings encase tiny animals called coral polyps. Coral reefs are home to about 25% of the ocean's plant and animal species. Coral reefs are at risk of destruction by climate change, fishing, pollution, and other causes. Page 6: Sometimes, a surprise glistens inside! Flap 1: A pearl found inside a giant clam in the Philippines weighed 75 pounds (34 kg). Flap 2: Pearls are made when an oyster forms layers of hard matter over injured tissue or an irritant. Flap 3: Only 1 in about every 10,000 oyster in the wild contain a pearl. Page 7: From sandy shore to deep ocean floor, shells fascinate.