Aqua Boy
Aqua Boy
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Publisher's Hardcover ©2024--
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Candlewick Press
Annotation: A boy’s love for the sea and marine animals spurs him to quiet bravery—and a transformative first experience—in a story ... more
 
Reviews: 1
Catalog Number: #832290
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Copyright Date: 2024
Edition Date: 2024 Release Date: 05/21/24
ISBN: 1-536-23664-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-536-23664-4
Dewey: E
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

A gentle story of family environmental stewardship.Aaron and his sister, Angel, live by the ocean, where they and their parents serve as ocean guardians, volunteers who take care of the beach. Angel, a strong swimmer for whom the ocean is a second home, has nicknamed herself "Coral Girl," but Aaron fears going underwater. Mom and Dad reassure him that one day he'll be ready. Later, a big storm litters the beach with trash, which the ocean guardians clean up. The children fantasize about finding a way "to clean up the ocean for good": with a huge vacuum cleaner, perhaps, or a robot fish. When Aaron finds an octopus stranded on the shore, Dad encourages it to wrap itself around a branch and puts it back into the water. Mesmerized, Aaron watches the octopus as it stares back at him. Aaron dons his goggles and goes underwater to watch his friend swim away. His fear banished, Aaron embarks on a new relationship with the ocean as he observes wildlife-and always keeps an eye out for his friend the octopus. Wilson-Max's deeply saturated, thickly outlined acrylic paintings depict vibrant scenes of ocean life and effectively capture the love between Aaron's family members, their passion for this coastal habitat, and their frustration upon witnessing ocean pollution. Aaron and his family are brown-skinned.Certain to instill a passion for the ocean and its many wonders. (information about octopuses, the impact of trash on marine life, and the role of ocean guardians) (Picture book. 4-7)

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Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 1.0
Interest Level: K-3

A boy’s love for the sea and marine animals spurs him to quiet bravery—and a transformative first experience—in a story that will resonate with young ocean lovers.

Aaron lives by the ocean with his sister, Angel, and his mom and dad, who are Ocean Guardians. He loves the smell of the air, the colors of the water, the sound of the waves, and the feel of sand between his toes. But unlike his sister, who dives into the waves all day long, Aaron shies away from putting his head in the water. How can he ever fulfill his dream of swimming with dolphins and whales? One day, as his family does beach cleanup after a storm, they come upon a stranded octopus. As Aaron helps his father with the rescue, he finds himself following the octopus underwater to watch it swim away. He did it! With warm illustrations and a gentle text, Ken Wilson-Max shows how environmental stewardship and empathy for the world’s animals can infuse us with unexpected bravery.


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