Fantasy has plenty of room for sophistication, both in plot and in emotional complexity, as Santat well knows. This combination family drama, comedy, and submarine adventure is a thoughtful journey that doesn't spare the fun. Ever since her father, famous marine biologist Dr. Michel Revoy, died at sea, Sophia has been raised by his partner, her uncle, Paul. But Michel's work has become his brother's obsession, and just when a shady investor threatens to close Paul's Aqualand, a mysterious figure in a deep-sea diving suit appears. That figure turns out to be several, actually; the suit contains a group of small sea creatures who must deliver a crucial message from the late Michel. Much trouble ensues, both amusing and urgent, and Santat's cartoon-gritty art captures both ends of the spectrum, ratcheting up the suspense and drama in a superlative climactic passage of, so to speak, "splash" pages. They capture this winning tale's overarching message 's all about reaching out, to family, to friends, to shipmates, and especially to fearful strangers who need your help.

In this fast-paced graphic novel, the story shifts quickly from the prologue's dramatic underwater disaster to a goofy sci-fi buddy comedy set five years later. A motley crew of ocean creatures, led by a hermit crab named Sodapop, turns an old-school diving suit into a three-kids-in-a-trench-coat-style way for them to leave the ocean and find Aqualand, a place they read about in the journal of the marine biologist who'd died in the book's first pages. But instead of the safe haven for ocean animals they expected, they find a theme park run by a greedy investor, as well as the grief-stricken daughter and brother of the deceased scientist. While the plot gets a bit convoluted, Santat handles both the goofy physical comedy and the family's grief deftly. The exceptional art is what makes those disparate elements work together, with muted green and deep blue tones creating a palette against which both the slapstick and the characters' expressive facial expressions pop. The Aquanaut itself switches between looking hilariously unwieldy and absolutely otherworldly, and Santat finds both humor and pathos in the strange gaze of its faceless helmet. Laura Koenig

A crew of intrepid marine creatures rig up an antique diving suit to explore space, the final frontier-otherwise known as San Diego.The plot may be a messy tangle, but the art in this graphic tale is something special. Several years after the research vessel Miette went down in a storm, taking Paul Revoy's brother, Michel, with it, the marine biologist and his orphaned niece, Sophia, are amazed when Michel's deep-sea diving suit walks out of the ocean-piloted by a hermit crab named Sodapop for its recycled shell, with help from octopuses Antonio and Carlos and sea turtle Jobim. Ensuing events, which include a science fair, tricking a greedy theme park investor, and pulling off a rescue of captive animals ranging from baby sea turtles to a full-size orca and a colossal squid, come off as marginally linked set pieces. Still, in hilarious views of the suit disguised in human clothing amid oblivious bystanders, in panels depicting frantic scrambles and haunting deep-water scenes, and most of all in images of people and only slightly anthropomorphized marine species caught in moments of wonder, grief, sadness, comical astonishment, or fierce determination, Santat's vividly expressive visuals are, even more than usual, riveting. The Revoys have tan skin and dark hair; human figures in background scenes are racially diverse.A crab, a sea turtle, and a pair of cephalopods boldly go where no denizens of the deep have gone before. (production and cast notes) (Graphic fantasy. 9-12)

In a dramatic cold open, Caldecott Medalist Santat renders the catastrophic sinking of an ocean research vessel: marine biologist and captain Michel Revoy goes down with the ship, leaving behind a labeled canister and message in a bottle, but his brother Paul survives, charged with caring for Michel-s daughter, Sophia (all are portrayed as pale-skinned). Five years later, a figure in an antique diving suit wades onto a busy San Diego beach; it-s a robotic aquanaut, captained by four intrepid sea creatures-a hermit crab called Sodapop, octopuses Antonio and Carlos, and an unflappable sea turtle named Jobim. They-ve encountered Michel-s diary, and they-re searching for Aqualand, the marine reserve the Revoy brothers founded. The sea creatures are effective comic foils for a human drama about family legacy and Aqualand-s commercialization, and they also carry the story-s moral arc as they risk their lives to rescue their captive brethren, encountering Sophia along the way. Kinetic panel artwork impresses throughout, with smart pacing that swings between hilarity and suspense-the underwater scenes in particular mesmerize with saturated blue-blacks that convey infinite depth and silence. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Mar.)