Image: Scholastic
Happy Monday! I'm approaching the halfway point in my summer break. I've read twenty books so far, well below my usual goal of at least one book a day, but I'm reading every day and enjoying nearly everything I read. How's your goal going?
Middle Grade Monday features The Aquanaut by Dan Santat. This is a sci/fi graphic novel centered around a little girl named Sophia, whose oceanographer father was lost at sea while on a research trip some years earlier. In fact, that disaster at sea is how the book opens, so be prepared. Fast-forward to today and Sophia is a distracted student living with her equally distracted uncle who is also an oceanographer who works for the an aquarium called Aqualand. Sophia's uncle is being pressured by the CEO and the investors to do something shady. He also promised to help Sophia with her science project. In the meanwhile, an aquanaut dressed in an old-fashioned diving suit emerges from the ocean near Aqualand trying to pass as human, but is, in fact being piloted by four sea creatures who had a connection to Sophia's father.
At turns hilarious, heartwarming and suspenseful, the art is just perfect. Rich, lush colors and perfectly paced panel placement encourages the reader to swallow this tale whole. I did, then turned back to page one for another read-through. I just know my GN fans are going to gobble this one up.
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