Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
What a fantastic graphic novel for kids about family, loss, and freindship.
You can read the entire book in less than an hour, but then you will want to go back and read it again.
Dan Santat did a masterful job of writing in suspense, emotion, and creating a believable dynamic between the little girl, the uncle and the sea creatures. Wonderful illustrations make this a complete package. 5 Stars.
You can read the entire book in less than an hour, but then you will want to go back and read it again.
Dan Santat did a masterful job of writing in suspense, emotion, and creating a believable dynamic between the little girl, the uncle and the sea creatures. Wonderful illustrations make this a complete package. 5 Stars.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There was sparse character development, and some jumps in the story made the plot feel choppy, but the art was lovely. The story Santat wanted to tell could have (should have) doubled the page count but graphic novels are what they are. There is much left to the imagination. The students are going to love this book, and that's what matters.
After finding a marine biologist’s notebook, a motley crew of marine creatures band together in an old diving suit on a quest to find the place he wrote about. Or, Nicole catnip. Loved it and can’t wait to share it with my students!
I love that Santat is doing more GNs these days.
This one is about a bunch of sea creatures that take over a diving suit and go walking around on land. Starts out (in the pre-title page prologue) with a dramatic scene of a person drowning, so that pitched it darker than I think Santat might have intended. I also could have used a montage or two showing the passage of time in spots.
I liked the representation of a kid getting raised by her uncle.
Solid full color, though the coloring is largely tinted a kind of yellowy-brown, which felt a little muted to me.
Might take this out to schools, though. I love the image of an old-timey deep-sea suit walking out of the ocean.
Edit to add: Oh My Gosh, this was the runaway hit book of my May/June 2024 elementary school visits. I blew up a giant picture of an aquanaut and laminated it, then slowly unrolled it as I talked about how lucky we are here in WA to live by the ocean. When it was fully unrolled, I'd tell the group that this is a suit for someone you might call an Aquanaut.
"Raise your hand if you know what an astronaut is." Someone defines an astronaut.
"Raise your hand if you know what the word AQUA means in English." Someone defines aqua. "Now put those together - what do you think an Aquanaut would do."
"Now, if you saw something like this walking out of the ocean, what would you think was inside?" kicks off a guessing game of what's actually inside of the suit. After the group discovers the four different sea creatures inside the suit, I gave them a very quick&basic summary of the plot while rolling the thing back up and putting it away. So Fun! So many hooks for interaction!
I plan to use the giant Aquanaut prop as a photo op all summer long, and it will probably decorate my office after that. :)
This one is about a bunch of sea creatures that take over a diving suit and go walking around on land. Starts out (in the pre-title page prologue) with a dramatic scene of a person drowning, so that pitched it darker than I think Santat might have intended. I also could have used a montage or two showing the passage of time in spots.
I liked the representation of a kid getting raised by her uncle.
Solid full color, though the coloring is largely tinted a kind of yellowy-brown, which felt a little muted to me.
Might take this out to schools, though. I love the image of an old-timey deep-sea suit walking out of the ocean.
Edit to add: Oh My Gosh, this was the runaway hit book of my May/June 2024 elementary school visits. I blew up a giant picture of an aquanaut and laminated it, then slowly unrolled it as I talked about how lucky we are here in WA to live by the ocean. When it was fully unrolled, I'd tell the group that this is a suit for someone you might call an Aquanaut.
"Raise your hand if you know what an astronaut is." Someone defines an astronaut.
"Raise your hand if you know what the word AQUA means in English." Someone defines aqua. "Now put those together - what do you think an Aquanaut would do."
"Now, if you saw something like this walking out of the ocean, what would you think was inside?" kicks off a guessing game of what's actually inside of the suit. After the group discovers the four different sea creatures inside the suit, I gave them a very quick&basic summary of the plot while rolling the thing back up and putting it away. So Fun! So many hooks for interaction!
I plan to use the giant Aquanaut prop as a photo op all summer long, and it will probably decorate my office after that. :)
Far more touching and heartfelt than you would expect from a middle grade graphic novel with an old fashioned diving suit being operated by sea creatures on the cover. I adored this. Santat is already one of my favorite author-illustrators. This seals it.
The art is wonderful, but the plot was clunky and sometimes confusing. While the characters were excellent to look at, it felt like they didn't quite come alive. Sophie is having trouble at school in the beginning but that is just left dangling. The ocean creatures' motivation didn't gel for me. And the villain was a total evil businessman stereotype.
Overall this book reminded me of the movies Free Willy, The Life Aquatic, and Finding Nemo/Dory.
I had super high hopes for this one, but it kinda let me down. I don't see it winning awards, but I think a lot of young readers will love the art and the physical comedy of fish in a man-suit.
Overall this book reminded me of the movies Free Willy, The Life Aquatic, and Finding Nemo/Dory.
I had super high hopes for this one, but it kinda let me down. I don't see it winning awards, but I think a lot of young readers will love the art and the physical comedy of fish in a man-suit.