What lies beneath the Deep Blue? Let's find out in these three books about the ocean.
Take a deep breath and dive with me into these colourful pages and enter the lives of the creatures who live in the Deep Blue. These books about the ocean will trigger the imagination of every child about what lies beneath the surface.
The vast seascapes illustrated in this large board book caught my breathe!
Imagine you’re part of the scientific team on the submarine Oceanos, set out to explore the ocean’s depths. Caught in a violent storm though, you drift off course, from the glittering surface of the sea to the darkness of the abyss.
The silver submarine provides scale of the massive ocean, maneuvering past schools of busy sea creatures, from lighted surface to deep darkness, calm to stormy conditions, and through various underwater environments.
I’m including some of these illustrations here, so you can you enjoy them too!
Rainbow Fish is curious about the deep unfamiliar underwater canyon along the edge where he often plays with his friends. Octopus dissuades Rainbow Fish from this pursuit, however, in his unflattering descriptions of the canyon dwellers.
However, when a strong current pulls off Rainbow Fish’s last shiny scale and carries it down the canyon’s depths, curiosity gets the better of the little fish, and he succumbs to the lure of the unknown realm.
With the exception of one grumpy inhabitant, Rainbow Fish finds out that his deep dwelling neighbours are helpful, kind and unqiue, as they help him find his lost scale.
This tale flips the common misconception that anything that is foreign or unknown must be scary or negative. It also illustrates how the courage to seek to discover the truth for oneself, though potentially risky, can be the only way to dismantle such destructive myths.
Seagull and Sea Dragon are curious about the worlds they don’t live in, each wondering about what’s down in the deep blue water or up in the light blue sky. They invent names for what they don’t yet understand—“sea trees” for sea dragons and “sky fish” for sea gulls—eventually admitting their own fears about the unknown.
When at last they meet, their made-up names cause confusion at first. They soon realise, however, they know much about their own worlds and can share with the other.
In the process, they form a friendship based on their common passion— curiosity!
This book is apt for young readers, introducing vocabulary like coral, feathers, moon jellyfish, flock and fins, encouraging emerging scientists to begin their own information journey.
The illustrations alone of these three books about the ocean would ignite wonder about what takes up 70% of our world. Add in the lovely stories of adventure and curiosity that our marine protagonists and you’re all set for a weekend of fascinating underwater adventure!
Can’t get enough of books about the ocean? Here are our favourite books about whales, which lightly introduce the important topic of ocean conservation!
PS: We’ve got a fun ocean explorer craft for you out of simple materials from home here!
Featured books are suitable for children from 5 years and up.
All books featured are available in Singapore’s public libraries and in the bookshops linked.