A review by nancyadelman
The Aquanaut: A Graphic Novel by Dan Santat

5.0

The Aquanaut is a moving, adventurous tale about a group of endangered sea creatures who commandeer a diver's suit in order to travel out of the ocean. This whimsical story includes a dwarf octopus, a sea turtle, and a crab named Sodapop who discover Aqualand, a theme park similar to SeaWorld. These animals travel in the diver's suit in the 3 kids in a trenchcoat style popular in cartoons. They accidentally stumble upon Sophia, a girl who is missing her parents and they also help some other animals at the theme park. This book has themes of grief and loss, preserving one's legacy, and of course, of family. It is recommended for ages 8-12. This book is a Caldecott award winning book as well as the National Book Award for Children's Literature. I highly recommend it!