The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea

In their fourth collaboration, Guiberson and Spirin echo the format of 2013’s The Greatest Dinosaur Ever as a dozen aquatic creatures take turns claiming to be the “most amazing creature in the sea!” Each animal describes itself vividly and evocatively: “Predators don’t stand a chance against my powers of evasion,” boasts a vampire squid. Spirin’s always lush illustrations go beyond naturalistic detail to give the subjects a dignity and majesty: a trio of 5,000-pound ocean sunfish, the “heaviest bony fish in the world,” have the glow of Renaissance putti, while a mimic octopus’s copper-and-cream tentacles unfurl languidly across an inky blue seascape. Readers will enjoy debating who deserves the coveted title—perhaps the utterly alien hagfish or the blue whale, which “takes in 17,000 gallons of food-filled water in a single mouthful”? An awe-inspiring look at ocean biodiversity that revels in the significance of every animal. Ages 4–8. (June)