Starred Review ALA Booklist (Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Starred Review Alternating between horizontal and vertical orientations, this cheerful, witty, and absolutely enticing picture book offers two-page spreads featuring creatures from the deep blue sea: sharks, crabs, jellyfish, penguins, pufferfish, and dragonets, to name but a few. The oversize pages are filled from top to bottom with illustrations encompassing a palette of blues, ranging from deep blue to sky blue to dark purple to turquoise green ll, you get the picture. Or no, actually, you probably don't; these drawings are unique in their crisp details and dizzying compositions. Even the index is surrounded by a lush array of sea life. As if the intricately detailed drawings aren't enough to pique interest, search challenges throughout the pages encourage additional engagement: readers are encouraged to locate 15 appearances of a reoccurring sardine ("Watch out for imposters"), find the two squid with extra-long tentacles, or distinguish an eel from a group of sea snakes (answer keys are provided, thank goodness). Satisfying one- or two-sentence captions offer definitions, insights, suitably gory details, and occasional bad puns. Factual and visually accurate, this sure-fire kid magnet should prompt a lot of interest d requests for multiple readings. Just be sure to allow plenty of time for poring over each page.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This third title in the Big Book series focuses on ocean biodiversity. Opening spreads discuss sea animal families, sea creature locomotion, and how aquatic species breathe, followed by spreads devoted to specific animals. Zommer-s illustrations are more whimsical than naturalistic-creatures peer at one another with expressive, close-set eyes-but fun, accompanying captions provide factual insights: -a tuna has a super streamlined body which helps it to glide through the water.- Though Zommer doesn-t give readers much geographical sense of different ocean regions, the scenes feature tonal shifts in water color, from pale, tropical blues to the -inky darkness- that is the domain of anglerfish, blobfish, and gulper eels; the portrait layout also enhances the sense of ocean depth. Zommer introduces a seek-and-find element (-Can you find... exactly the same sardine 15 times in this book?-), which will lead readers to discover additional facts and surprises within the teeming underwater scenes. Ages 4-up. (June)

School Library Journal (Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Gr 2-5 This cerulean-filled work is overflowing with oceanographic details and information. Readers can learn about 20 different sea creatures from the well-known octopus to the lesser-known dragonet. The book also includes general information on sea animals as well as basic conservation. There are plenty of facts, but the narrative remains at the surface level on most subjects. The whimsical illustrations create an aura of a busy ocean and will give readers a lot to discover on every page. Zommer has even included a few hide-and-seek puzzles throughout. Instead of a glossary, there is a page of "fishy phrases" where readers can learn about a few specific words or phrases that relate to ocean life. However, these words aren't highlighted in any way in the actual text. VERDICT This is not an ideal book for research, but purchase where browsable ocean-focused volumes are in demand. V. Lynn Christiansen, Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC