A Journey Under the Sea

by Craig Foster, Ross Frylinck

Overview

From the creator of the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher and his diving partner comes a best-in-class photographic picture book about the wonders of the sea.

Here’s an ode to the mysteries of the ocean, the animals who share our planet, and the healing power of nature from the Oscar-winning creator of the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher and his diving partner.

This meditation on the treasures to be found in the Great African Sea Forest introduces the many wonders of an environment that always surprises—from the tiniest sea snails to the shapeshifting octopus to the gently singing whales.

Illustrated with gorgeous underwater photography of the fascinating creatures and places most of us will never witness firsthand, this picture book is a window into another world and all it has to share with us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358677864
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Craig Foster is one of the world’s leading natural history filmmakers and co-founder of the Sea Change Project. He won the Academy Award for Best Documentary for My Octopus Teacher, and has created over 100 films and documentaries in addition to his photography. He lives in South Africa.

ROSS FRYLINCK is a co-founder of the Sea Change Project. He is also a co-founder of Autonomy, the international exhibition for sustainable mobility based in Paris. Ross is a writer and photographer, and a former commissioning editor at Cambridge University Press. He has been working for ocean conservation for the past 15 years and lives in Cape Town. 

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2022

“Dive into the clear, cold water and you will find yourself in a forest of liquid light. You can relax and explore—the sea holds you safe in a salty embrace.” In a photographic picture book, Foster and Frylinck, cofounders of the Sea Change Project and creators of the documentary My Octopus Teacher, invite readers on a mesmerizing guided tour of the Great African Sea Forest—a kelp forest at the tip of South Africa. While inviting language makes the read feel interactive, light-infused, full-bleed photographic close-ups introduce creatures found within the ecosystem: a wide-eyed seal pup (“Come on, the pup seems to say, swim deeper”), a small rockfish (“you can play a game of hide-and-seek”), and camouflaged octopuses, among others. A visual gem, this underwater jaunt concludes with a dreamlike wish: “Remember the wild, hold it safe in your heart.” Captioned thumbnails of each spread offer facts about the featured fauna and their home. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"What a magnificent book—a perfect gift for anyone who loves nature." — Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

★"A powerful expression of love and respect for the ocean and the magnificent creatures that live in its waters. Highly recommended." — School Library Journal (starred review)

“In a gentle, leisurely tone, [Foster and Frylinck] invite readers to ‘dive into the clear, cold water . . . relax and explore.’ The photographs are colorful and unusual. This is a delight. Dive in!”   — Kirkus Reviews

"Foster and Frylinck, cofounders of the Sea Change Project and creators of the documentary My Octopus Teacher, invite readers on a mesmerizing guided tour of the Great African Sea Forest. A visual gem." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

"What a magnificent book – a perfect gift for anyone who loves nature." -

Dr. Jane Goodall

★ 10/01/2022

K-Gr 3—From Foster, creator of the award-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher, and Frylinck, his dive partner, this is a beautiful close-up look at the world beneath the sea. Stunning underwater photographs allow readers to experience the wonder of sea creatures that few will see firsthand. The work reveals hidden treasures such as a view of a pyjama shark's eye that looks like "an alien galaxy blazing in the deepest reaches of space." The narrative is designed as a personal journey into the sea with poetic descriptions ("you will find yourself in a forest of liquid light" and an octopus "waves her arms and shimmers and twinkles her skin"). Back matter describes the environment and creatures from each page and reveal fascinating facts. VERDICT Far more than an informational nature book, this is a powerful expression of love and respect for the ocean and the magnificent creatures that live in its waters. Highly recommended.—Heidi Dechief

School Library Journal

2022-06-22
Explore the ecosystem of the Great African Seaforest.

Foster and Frylinck, founders of the Sea Change Project and part of the team that produced the Netflix film My Octopus Teacher, use some of their amazing underwater photographs to introduce a kelp forest ecosystem located off the coast of South Africa, a rich, biodiverse ocean world. In a gentle, leisurely tone, they invite readers to “dive into the clear, cold water…relax and explore.” The relatively simple text sits directly on the striking images. The first two spreads show the ocean from above, flying over the South African coast and then closing in above a swimmer. Under the water is an abundance of “curious creatures,” colorful fish, a seal pup, a tiny rockfish, and an octopus hiding behind shells and stones. Spread by spread, we meet more creatures until, finally, we see departing dolphins. The photographs are colorful and unusual, from distant views to astonishing close-ups; a look at a pyjama shark’s eye is especially compelling. The five final pages feature smaller versions of the images found within the book, with further identification and information. This is a delight on its own but would also pair well with Susannah Burhman-Deever’s If You Take Away the Otter (2020), illustrated by Matthew Trueman, or Nicholas Read’s The Seal Garden (2018), with photographs by Ian McAllister, both set in the kelp forests off North America’s West Coast. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Dive in! (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews