Kids of all ages love learning about coral reef ecosystems. These books about coral reefs are perfect for a unit study about these amazing habitats!
Whether you are studying coral reefs with your kids or just looking for some educational books to read together this list is for you.
These diverse habitats are homes for sea turtles, sea stars, and many other marine animals.
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I personally went through and read each one of these books before adding them to the list. Only high quality books for kids made the list.
As a mom and teacher, I like to give my readers information about how to use these books with their kids. To jump ahead to the books, simply click on the first title on the list below.
Jump to:
- Age Range
- Science Topics
- National Geographic Readers: Coral Reefs
- Discovering the Secret World: Coral Reefs
- Explore My World: Coral Reefs
- National Geographic Readers: Swim Fish!
- The World of Coral Reefs
- On Kiki's Reef
- Coral Reefs
- Life Cycles: Everything from Start to Finish
- Additional Activities
- Terms of Use
- Printable Bookmarks
- Comments
Don't forget to print off your copy of the coral reef bookmarks found at the bottom of this post! Unique designs of coral reef animals that your kids can color.
Age Range
- Toddlers
- Preschoolers
- Kindergarteners
- Elementary
- Upper Elementary
These books about coal reefs can be used with a wide range of kids. Perfect for homeschooling or if you are teaching in a multi-aged setting.
All of these books have illustrations to go along with the text. As your kids grow, they can learn new information even from reading the same book for multiple years.
Science Topics
- Coral Reef Ecosystems
- How Scientists Study Ecosystems
- Importance of Coal Reefs
- Interpreting Data
- Life Cycles
- Marine Invertebrates
- Protecting Environments
- Scientific Sketches
- Symbiotic Relationships
Related Resource: Coral Reef Coloring Pages
Books are amazing resources to use with your kids when learning topics in science. Children's books often have easy to read diagrams and scientific sketches to go along with the information.
This book list contains both fiction and non-fiction books for kids.
National Geographic Readers: Coral Reefs
The level 2 readers from National Geographic are know for their real life photographs and informational texts. Written for ages 5-8, this book is also a great resource for preschool and upper elementary aged kids.
Filled with information this is a true informational text. Perfect as a reference book for a coral reef unit study. There is even a glossary at the end of the book!
You can easily use this book as a guide when planning lessons around this ecosystem. Unit vocabulary can be pulled directly from this book.
Discovering the Secret World: Coral Reefs
This colorful board book is a wonderful introduction to the world of coral reefs. Young kids will love the bright images of coral reef ecosystems and the animals that call this habitat home.
If reading with kids of multiple ages, older kids will enjoy the facts that are sprinkled throughout the book. Unlike the National Geographic Readers, this book has illustrations verses real life photographs.
Explore My World: Coral Reefs
Bright and colorful, this picture book is written for kids in preschool through elementary. I love that the text is not overwhelming for young children.
Filled with large real life photographs of coral reefs, this book makes a wonderful addition to a unit study about these habitats.
As your kids flip through the book, there are different prompts including finding hidden animals within the images to reading a world map.
You will love that you can use this book for many years with your kids.
National Geographic Readers: Swim Fish!
Similar to the other National Geographic books on the list, this book has large and colorful photographs. Written for beginner readers, this book does not have a lot of text.
However, scientific vocabulary is introduced in way that will not overwhelm young children. If your child loves looking at real life photographs, you will like this book.
Even with the limited amount of text, you can talk about the images and the different animals that live within coral reefs together.
The World of Coral Reefs
Explore these diverse habitats with this beautifully illustrated children's book. Geared towards elementary aged kids, this text is full of information. From the life cycle of coral to how coral reefs form.
There is so much to learn from this book. This book has a table of contents, glossary, and index. I love when informational texts for kids include these important parts.
If your child is curious about coral, this book shows several different types of coral along with were you can find them in the ocean.
Scientific diagrams, maps, and close up illustrations make this book a wonderful resource for a study about these vital ecosystems.
On Kiki's Reef
This picture book is a story about a sea turtle that hatches on the beach then eventually lives in a coral reef. Kids of all ages love being read to and this story is a grea pick.
Bright and colorful illustrations take you along to see the different animals that live within the sea turtle's home. Perfect for elementary aged kids, this book is not too babyish for older kids.
Related Post: Sea Turtle Coloring Sheets
I love how this book shows you different creatures that live within a coral reef ecosystem and how they interact with one another. This book also includes additional resources you can look up to learn more about sea turtles and coral reefs.
Coral Reefs
Famous for her informational text, Gail Gibbon's book Coral Reefs is a wonderful resource for kids. Colorful illustrations and filled with facts.
Throughout the text, your kids will be introduced to new vocabulary terms. You can find labeled diagrams, maps, and so much more in this book.
Kids can learn about corals including their structure and what they eat. Along with the different types of coral reefs. Newly updated in 2019.
Life Cycles: Everything from Start to Finish
Not just about coral reefs, but this informational text is a wonderful resource. Within this large text is information and colorful diagrams for several marine animals that live in coral reefs.
Explore the life cycle of a clown fish, zooxanthellae, and a starfish. Each animal has a large double page spread which is filled with bright colorful illustrations.
I simply love this reference book. If you are exploring topics in science with your kids, this book is a wonderful resource! Written for elementary aged kids, however both younger and older children can benefit from this book.
Additional Activities
Studying these amazing marine habitats with your kids? Learning about the ocean is fun for kids of all ages.
- 20 Free Printable Flashcards about different ocean life including: sea turtles, seaweeds, and crabs
- Even if you can't explore a coral reef together, heading to the coast to observe marine ecosystems together is a great way to learn about ocean life. Tide pools or even just walking the coastline together is a wonderful activity.
Pictures of Coral Reefs to Color
- Print off a few different coral reef coloring sheets as a fun art activity to go along with these books! Unique designs featuring corals, coral reefs, and fish.
Terms of Use
These printable bookmarks were created by Nature Inspired Learning and are for personal use only for your home, classroom, or public library. This bookmark coloring page is for non-commercial use. See full disclosure.
Printable Bookmarks
- PDF downloadable bookmarks for your kids to color
- Fun bookmarks to use while studying oceans with your kids!
Anna
Picking up a few of these from the links you have. Thank you, we need books for our long drive to the aquarium coming up and this took the pressure off of having to find the books myself for our trip!!!
Julie
Hi Anna! Have fun at the aquarium and I'm so glad you were able to find a few great books from the list