The Big Book of the Blue

by Yuval Zommer

Overview

Following The Big Book of Bugs and The Big Book of Beasts, the hugely successful series takes to the sea!

Following the wild success of The Big Book of Bugs and The Big Book of Beasts, The Big Book of the Blue is the third installment in Yuval Zommer’s beloved series. Alongside everything the young oceanographer needs to know, Zommer’s charming illustrations bring to life some of the slipperiest, scaliest, strangest, and most monstrous underwater animals.

The book opens by explaining how different types of animals are able to breathe and survive underwater, and the different families to which they belong. Subsequent pages are dedicated to specific creatures, including sea turtles, whales, sharks, stingrays, and seahorses, and show varied life in specific habitats, such as a coral reef or deep sea bed. The Big Book of the Blue also explores the underwater world thematically, looking at animals in danger, learning how to spot creatures at the beach, and discovering how to do our part to save sea life. Beautiful and filled with fascinating facts, young, curious readers won’t be able to tear their eyes away from the page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780500651193
Publisher:	Thames & Hudson
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Series:	The Big Book Series
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	123,913
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 13.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Yuval Zommer is an author, illustrator, and environmentalist based in London. He studied at the Royal College of Art and worked for many years as a creative director at leading advertising agencies before becoming an author and illustrator. His award-winning Big Book series has now been published in thirty languages and has over 2 million copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

05/21/2018
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)

Publishers Weekly

"Cheerful, witty, and absolutely enticing… The oversize pages featuring creatures from the deep blue sea are filled from top to bottom with illustrations encompassing a palette of blues [and] drawings are unique in their crisp details and dizzying compositions. Factual and visually accurate, this sure-fire kid magnet should prompt a lot of interest—and requests for multiple readings. Just be sure to allow plenty of time for poring over each page."

Booklist (starred review)

02/01/2019

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

School Library Journal

2018-04-25
Denizens of the deep crowd oversized pages in this populous gallery of ocean life.The finny and tentacled sea creatures drifting or arrowing through Zommer's teeming watercolor seascapes are generally recognizable, and they are livened rather than distorted by the artist's tendency to place human eyes on the same side of many faces, Picasso-like. Headers such as "Ink-teresting" or "In for the krill" likewise add a playful tone to the pithy comments on anatomical features or behavioral quirks that accompany the figures (which include, though rarely, a white human diver). The topical spreads begin with an overview of ocean families ("Some are hairy, some have scales, some have fins and some are boneless and brainless!"), go on to introduce select animals in no particular order from sea horses and dragonets to penguins and pufferfish, then close with cautionary remarks on chemical pollution and floating plastic. The author invites readers as they go to find both answers to such questions as "Why does a crab run sideways?" and also a small sardine hidden in some, but not all, of the pictures. For the latter he provides a visual key at the end, followed by a basic glossary. A refreshing dive past some of our world's marine wonders. (index) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews