Swift Walker: A Journey Around the Oceans: Science and Geography Books for Kids

This is a really good book for little kids. It's full of bright, colourful illustrations and kids can follow the dots and follow Swift Walker's journey around the oceans. They learn about an animal at each location and the names of various country names that he passes through to reach the oceans. The summary at the end ties it all together with some new information.The cover is misleading. I was expecting an underwater adventure. Swift Walker does not go underwater and discover underwater creatures as the cover seems to indicate.

This was the perfect introduction to the names and locations of the world’s oceans. Swift Walker is a young boy who loves to move and as he’s out walking one day he finds himself exploring the six oceans on our planet. After a quick jaunt around the globe Swift finds himself at home just in time for dinner.This was the perfect level for preschool, Kindergarten and even first grade. It didn’t get too detailed so the story and information wasn’t bogged down. I tested the book out with my daughter and caught myself wondering if they book should have had more facts and details. However, I noticed that my daughter was super engaged and didn’t ask to skip sections or just flip the page in the middle of reading as she does with nonfiction books that do have more. I realized it was right where she needed it to be. It’s a simple introduction to the idea of geography and that while we have one big ocean we do break it down into smaller sections that share location and ecology. Working a fun character and silly story into the book made the information much easier for her to take in too. I think Swift will be recognizable to most kids. He can’t keep still and wants to set off on adventures.I would like to point out the font in the book (you can see it there on the cover with the subtitle). It’s a pretty traditional school font, kind of like D’Nealian. For kids learning to read and recognize letters these familiar and simple fonts are so important to have in books. As much as I love a beautiful font and fun with text elements in picture books they can make the reading experience frustrating and nearly impossible for emerging readers. The simplicity of this book would make this one a great shared reading experience with a parent and child or student and teacher. The illustrations are bright and colorful and make for a fun reading experience. I will say, I’m sorry librarians, it’s paperback. If you can tape it up and bear with it, it will be well worth it. As with a lot of these self published and small press books, you may have to hand sell them. Although with Swift Walker the covers are incredibly inviting, so they may sell themselves if you turn them face out on the shelf or on display.Ultimately the book was a lot of fun to read and offered a quick dip into the oceans of the world without overburdening young readers. It would make a great addition to collections that serve curious young minds that want to explore the world.

This series of books is fantastic! Books about science that feature children of color are sooo needed! There is such a dearth of this type of literature available. The illustrations are so cute and colorful and the subject matter is made even more interesting by the way the main character engages with it. Love love love!!!

Kids need to see more children of color as main characters in books, especially adventure book. So glad my little child gets to experience this book series. I also recommend Desmond Cole series.

I’m absolutely in love with these books. I love how the author writes about real geographic places across the world, and the illustrations reflect that. I’m looking forward to buying the next Swift Walker book! My boy loves them! I purchased 3 already!

Great educational books for kids. Very colorful illustrations. Loaded with fun facts about the oceans. Swift walks past each ocean and sees the marine life that lives there. I purchased all 3 books from the Swift Walker series.

My kids love Swift Walker and ask to read this one in particular again and again. Great details, engaging kids with details that make them ask questions and want to learn more! It is an excellent addition to my homeschooler's curriculum.

I love finding books about little black boys that aren't about sports!! Representation is so important. My nephew wants to be an oceanographer when he grows up; this book is a perfect gift!!

Get your walking boots and hang on your hats children because we’re off to a speedy walk around the world, visiting five oceans along the way. Verlyn has certainly followed the lead of her grandfather in getting children to enjoy reading about travel and adventure - and great fun at the same time. If he had visited our shores, he wouldn’t have been told by a bobby to ‘pass along please’!

Great colors - a beaming smile - and plenty of dots to follow as you travel around the world learning why the great oceans have their names. Great for kids and adults too - you're never too old to learn.