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*The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau* by Dan Yaccarino
 
Also by Dan Yaccarino:

Lawn to Lawn
The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
by Dan Yaccarino
Ages 5+ 40 pages Knopf March 2009 Hardcover    

Jacques Cousteau’s television specials were a steady and eagerly anticipated part of my childhood. As much as I enjoyed viewing those amazing underwater creatures, it never occurred to me to wonder how Cousteau became an advocate for the marine environment or how remarkable it was that my generation got to travel beneath the ocean’s surface through the magic of television – and the ingenuity of Cousteau.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau is a beautifully designed picture book that tells Cousteau’s inspiring story in short, simple sentences. Some pages contain only two sentences, yet all the important facts are there – how the sickly child took up swimming to build his strength, how a gift of goggles introduced him to a mesmerizing new world, how his curiosity and love of ‘tinkering’ resulted in marvelous inventions like the Diving Saucer and the Sea Flea.

In addition to a neatly presented biography of Cousteau, author Dan Yaccarino includes plenty of Cousteau quotes that are as revealing as the facts of his life. The element that completes this elegant and enthralling book, however, is Yaccarino’s dreamlike artwork. Soft, mystical colors and images evoke the mysterious underwater images that Cousteau shared with us and draw readers into the wondrous ocean realm.

Those already intrigued by undersea exploration will be delighted, but this is also a perfect introduction for those who haven’t yet discovered the magical kingdom below the ocean’s surface. Short, sweet, and enchanting, The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau is just the sort of book teachers and parents will enjoy reading aloud to young people.
 


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