short amp sweet biography of Jacques Cousteau with lovely illustrations, Inspiring and thoughtprovoking story of this explorer and champion of the world's oceans, Bright and bold illustrations capture the eye, and Cousteau's biography captures the imagination, This was a new biography that my librarian allowed me to preview before she put it on the shelves, I'm glad she did, since I really liked it and read it aloud to my students, Most of them had never heard of this great man, and it saddened me, They were fascinated that he invented so many of the tools of underwater sea exploration that we now take for granted, I used this book to talk about life lessons applied to our own lives we call this the SOWHAT in our class.
This is one of the best books for learning about Jacques Cousteau and the illustrations are amazing! I saw the poster for this book and looked for it for three months before finding a copy.
I really enjoyed this book about a man who saw conservation before anyone else did and what he did about it,
This is another great book with insights into the life of Jacques Cousteau! Previously I had read sitelinkManfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau which I also thoroughly enjoyed! I think my sister put it best when she said that "Manfish" gives more information on Cousteau's younger life, and this book gives more information on his young adult/early adult years.
Personally, I enjoyed the illustrations in "Manfish" a little more a tad more realistic but that is purely personal and I thought these illustrations fit the story really well.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to read the extra back matter in this book, but it looked pretty informative for those wishing a deeper look into Cousteau's life.
An engaging picturebook biography of the famous French scientist, inventor, explorer, and pioneering underwater filmmaker, Dan Yaccarino's The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau has the kind of bold coverart that will immediately draw the young reader in.
With black and white panels, a stylishly elongated Cousteau, and a title in colorful type, the cover mirrors the excitement within, as Cousteau's eventful life his many discoveries, inventions and honors is set out in a simple, straightforward text, and paired with brief quotations from the great man himself.
I enjoyed this title which I have seen compared to another picturebook examination of Cousteau's life, Jennifer Berne's sitelinkManfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau and highly recommend it to young readers who appreciate biography, or who are interested in underwater exploration and marine biology.
The artwork, as already mentioned, is attentiongrabbing colorful, energetic, and full of fun and an informative afterword provides further details about Cousteau's life and achievements.
A Jacques Cousteau quote on every page in a circle,
Some issues with contrast between the background and the text in places,
A nice bibliography of the ocean explorer that influenced so many people, My Thoughts:
The text of this book wowed me, I could not stop reading to see what would happen to Cousteau, I liked its simplicity and its clearness, I liked how accessible the text was, even for the youngest of readers,
The illustrations were fun and cartoonish, I didnt like the colors the Yaccarino used for the water at first, every color except ocean blue, I think, but the colors grew on me, and I grew to love them.
I was very surprised how much the children liked this book and how much they were interested in this mans life,
The book also included a table of Cousteaus life and sources for further study,
A Sample:
“The fish off the coast of Africa were friendly and curious and did not swim away, Cousteau was the first human being they had ever seen, ”
Childrens Comments:
Alexis,, said, "I liked how he went down in the ocean, "
Vanessa,, said, "I liked how he made a camera all by himself, "
Jony,, said, "I liked how he saw the seahorse, "
Melanie,, said, "I liked when he went down in the ocean, "
Tabitha,, said, "I liked how he was on tv, "
Joey,, said, "I liked how he got sick and had to go under the water, "
Childrens Ratings:,,,,,,,
Good picture book introduction to the life of Jacques Cousteau, This book mostly chronicles his interest in marine life, Beautiful pictures, beautiful story and I love the quotes throughout, A marvelous introduction to Jacques Cousteau's life and work in particular his many inventions that made sea exploration possible, Stunning illustrations. Cousteau was a truly fascinating man, But can we talk for one second about how he fathered two children in his eighties Because honestly that was the most memorable fact in the book.
Holy moly. O Jacques Cousteau was the world s ambassador of the oceans, His popular TV series brought whales, otters, and dolphins right into people s living rooms, Now, in this exciting picturebook biography, Dan Yaccarino introduces young readers to the man behind the snorkel,
From the first moment he got a glimpse of what lived under the ocean s waves, Cousteau was hooked, And so he set sail aboard the Calypso to see the sea, He and his team of scientists invented diving equipment and waterproof cameras, They made films and televisions shows and wrote books so they could share what they learned, The oceans were a vast unexplored world, and Cousteau became our guide, And when he saw that pollution was taking its toll on the seas, Cousteau became our guide in how to protect the oceans as well.
" An enjoyable and informative glimpse into the life of Jacques Cousteau, particularly his inventions for exploring the fantastic world beneath the waves.
I especially appreciated the quotes scattered throughout the book so we could hear things in Cousteau's own words,
If one is seeking picture book biographies of Cousteau, this one will inevitably be compared to sitelinkManfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau and I think both are worthy tributes to the subject.
The illustrations in "Fantastic Undersea" are a little more cartoonish than those in "Manfish" Also, "Manfish" focuses a little more on the filmmaking side of Cousteau's life and also his earliest days with filmmaking and inventing as a childbut "Fantastic" explains more about his later life.
However, both will inspire an appreciation of the sea and of Cousteau's remarkable contributions to sensitive and aweinspiring exploration of this vast and "fantastic" world that so few had ever seen to prior to his adventures and sharing them with the world through his filmmaking.
Cute kids book with colorful illustrations Great forrd grade Biography unit Cute, I love the various quotes by Cousteau throughout the book, as well as the fact that the illustrations are so much more colorful and filled out when Jacques is under water than when he is on dry land.
I found myself wising for some actual photos, however, when the book began mentioning some of Cousteau's discoveries, This book was amazing. It had awesome pics in it and it's really easy to read because it only takes one day, In such a short book it can tell you a lot about him, Here's a fact, Jacques got in a car accident but never gave up his under water life, He swam, explored the under world, and designed a new snorkeling suite, Wow is he good. That's good for someone who had a hard child life, Title: The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
Author: Dan Yaccarino
Pages:
Lexile level: ADL
Recommendations amp Comments: Jacques Cousteau gained strength from the ocean.
First by building up his muscles swimming, then by learning how many unexplored wonders were in the seas, As he worked to understand more about the oceans great depths and life, he helped to invent several types of equipment we know today, including SCUBA.
The book explores his inventions as well as how he used them both to educate the world about oceans and to work for their protection.
The language is simple and easy to understand, accompanied by stylized drawings popping with color and quotes from Cousteau himself, Its a good introduction to subjects that may inspire further exploration,
For more information about Cousteau, consider Scuba Man by Carmen Bredeson or Who Was Jacques Cousteau
out ofstars
ed By: Mr.
Tom
Outstanding introduction to pioneer scientist/inventor/celebrity, As colorful as a coral reef, Text and art communicate the MC's passion while entertaining the reader with factual tidbits, Narrative compares his boyhood interests with his adult accomplishments, created in a style easy for young readers to absorb, Category/Genre: Picture Book/Narrative Nonfiction
Copyright Date:
Estimate of age level of interest: Grades K
Estimate of reading level: Grade
Brief description:
This full color picture book shares the biography of Jacques Cousteau.
It begins with his love of the ocean as a boy and follows his life as he develops into a famous photographer and researcher.
Two characteristics of picture books/narrative nonfiction that appear in this book:
, One characteristic of good picture books is the effective use of perspective in the illustration, This book uses perspective to reinforce the narrative, For example, to give a sense of the vastness of the ocean a diver is shown as a small creature peering in the face of a sprawling humpback whale.
. Another characteristic of picture books that appear in this book is the use of space on the page, When the text is recalling the young life of Jacques Cousteau, the images seem to mirror his emerging sense of the world as they take up less of the page.
In contrast, the illustrations that show him at the peak of his career as an ocean explorer, there is little open space as the ocean spills across a full twopage spread.
In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience:
The marriage of colorful stylized imagery and simple, yet informative text reach out effectively to the intended audience.
As the scale and perspective of images ebb and flow with the narration, select quotations and accurate facts from Cousteau's life lend authority to this nonfiction text for children in the lower grades of elementary school.
Awards: N/A
Published reviews from professional sources:
Booklist,
Horn Book Magazine,
School Library Journal,
Science and Children National Science Teachers' Association,
Yaccarino, Dan.
The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, eBook. Read “In Browser” mode.
As a child of thes, there is a special sentiment reserved for the pioneers who, knowingly or not, took it upon themselves to broaden the world with their endeavors during that time.
Jacques Cousteau was one of those pioneers and his lifes work and words are captured elegantly in author Dan Yaccarinos book for children.
Each page is a combination of quotes from Cousteau, descriptive text from the author as well as his colorful, carefully stylized illustrations that consume the majority of the pages white space.
Each picture focuses on showing the reader Cousteau in action or the design that he developed and is being discussed, The author presents Cousteau early on in the book as a troubled child who overcomes physical impairments and injuries using his imagination and engineering skills without over dramatizing the subject's trials and tribulations.
With each of Cousteau's innovations, from the Aqua Lung to the Diving Saucer to the underwater lab that provided Cousteau with one of his only defeats that Yaccarino adds, young readers and STEM aficionados will enjoy this historical homage to a visionary scientist that provided my generation with our first look at the world under the sea and the current generation with a blueprint for protecting the oceans.
The ebook is broken into twopage combinations for users in the browser and allows mouse or touch control to swipe from page to page as well as the unique opportunity to zoom in on the illustrations.
At the conclusion of the biography, the author includes apage timeline of events, both that were described in the text and that were not, and also adds a page of titles for additional study by readers.
Target audience: grades. .
Start Reading The Fantastic Undersea Life Of Jacques Cousteau Designed By Dan Yaccarino Available In Readable Copy
Dan Yaccarino