The Voyager's Stone: The Adventures of a Message-Carrying Bottle Adrift on the Ocean Sea by Robert Kraske. il by Brian Floca.
Orchard Books: NY, 1995.

This is a unique and interesting blend of oceanography and geography. Kraske depicts ocean scenes as if the reader is there viewing them, almost as if we are the bottle. For each part of the ocean, it is like a day in the life of some creatures inhabiting the area. After being tossed into the sea by a boy, the bottle drifts, is tossed, tumbled and gets stuck. It travels great distances, and there are maps of wind and water currents to help the reader visualize the journey. The story is packed with more adventure than one would expect considering the subject is a drifting object. Creatures and storms make up the bulk of it.

The illustrations are a nice addition. The story would be much less meaningful without them. I found the book looking specifically for the illustrator's books.

The story's tone is what is most different. It is written with a nonfiction perspective, though portions are great story writing. The author blurb says Kraske has written on a variety of subjects, so I will have to do some looking.

related-oceanography, geography, life in the ocean, creatures of the sea, drift bottles, message bottles, water currents of the world, storms at sea, nature
RL=2nd-4th

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