A review by graypeape
Constellation of the Deep by Benjamin Flouw

4.0

The story here is about Fox, who goes for a walk along the beach with his cousin, Wolf. Along the way, a seagull overhears their conversation about plant life (a passion of Fox's), and asks if they've heard of the constellation of the deep, an elusive luminescent underwater plant. Fox is excited to try and find it, and gets his scuba gear and equipment to go try to find it, while Wolf stays behind to look at the various creatures found on the shore. In each case, a visual and text list of the gear and the creatures is given, but no other information is provided. As Fox dives through the underwater world, we get another list of plant life, with only names, no pronunciation guide or descriptions listed. At one point he loses his camera and helps a whale caught in a net, finding his camera stuck in the net with various pieces of trash. The whale helps him return to the beach, but he's sad that he never found the plant. While Wolf is reviewing the photos Fox took, he finds a picture Fox didn't take that turns out to be the plant Fox was searching for, apparently taken when the camera hit the ocean floor.
The art in this book is really gorgeous, with lush scenery and vibrant colors, I loved that part of the book. The story was good, though the ending was a bit abrupt, and it would have been nice to have either a glossary at the back, or explanations included within the illustrations of the different things listed, especially pronunciation on some of the harder words. This would've increased the educational aspect of the book, and added more interest to the story. I would still recommend it, but it will require some further reading to learn about the things listed.

#NetGalley