The Big Book of the Blue

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)