Matagorda Magic The Hidden Life of a Texas Bay

About this book

This book for young readers allows you to follow the lives of a resident family of American oystercatchers as you explore the diversity of an estuary, where rivers meet the sea, in Matagorda Bay. Celebrate the unique ecology of the bay as its own little world of Texas estuaries, the "nurseries of the sea". Matagorda Magic: The Hidden Life of a Texas Bay reveals the importance of these features as critical habitats for more than 200 species of resident and migratory birds, including the endangered whooping crane.

Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. In Texas, these places sustain sea life and provide critical habitat for hundreds of species. Estuaries also filter out pollution, buffer the shore from storms, sequester carbon, and offer recreational opportunities. Yet estuaries are commonly viewed as nothing more than mosquito-infested wastelands. In Texas alone, approximately 50 per cent of coastal wetlands have been destroyed in the last century. During that same time, half of oyster reefs have disappeared. Such losses show the disconnect between people and estuaries as well as the widespread lack of understanding about the importance of these vital ecosystems.

Matagorda Magic addresses this misunderstanding by inviting young people, their families, and teachers to discover the wonder of estuaries through the lives of their animal inhabitants as they contend with challenges on a Texas bay. Sidebars illuminate the fascinating lives of oystercatchers, whooping cranes, oysters, blue crabs, shrimp, spotted seatrout, and other animals who depend on estuaries for survival. By offering an intimate glimpse into these hidden lives, this book informs, nurtures, and deepens a love of place that in turn inspires stewardship.

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Biography

Kimberly Ridley is the author of the award-winning children’s books The Secret Stream, The Secret Pool, The Secret Bay, and Extreme Survivors: Animals That Time Forgot. She is the former editor of Hope Magazine and has written for many publications, including the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and Down East Magazine.

Rebekah Raye has illustrated numerous children’s books, including The Secret Pool and The Secret Bay. She is the author of The Very Best Bed and Bear-ly There, winner of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for Environmental Issues.