Customer Reviews

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea

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Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh . . . you can hear the sound of waves crashing on the shore and can easily see many different forms of life at the surface, but have you ever wondered what lies deep beneath the ocean waves? Above the waters you can see an albatross searching for his lunch while the Portuguese man-of-war lingers on the surface of the water waiting for his. Every now and then "sea creatures sometimes leap from the water into the air." The great white shark, the flying squid, flying fish and the spinner dolphin break the surface letting us know their presence. Under the surface and down, down, down are many fish we have seen, but also many amazing creatures that appear to come from a prehistoric era.

In this book each page descends a bit further down toward the bottom of the ocean, talks about what you might see around you, the life forms you will encounter, the depth, the name of the zone and tells you many other interesting facts and vignettes like how the sperm what battles with the giant squid "in total darkness." The deeper you go the more unusual the creatures become and the experience seems like something from a fantasy land. In the dark zone it even snows. When "marine snow" falls it might appear to be snow, but is actually "composed of dead plankton, fish scales, animal waste, and bits of larger creatures that have died in the waters above." Below it gets even stranger. Do you dare to go down even further?

This is a marvelously fun book to read and browse. The reluctant reader and confident reader will both experience a WOW connection with this book. When encountering an unusual creature like the siphonophore the reader almost has no choice but to read a little bit about critters that glow in the dark and how far down under the ocean they are (they're in the twilight zone, of course!). In the back of the book both the curious and voracious reader can find out more about each creature portrayed. Get ready for some FUN with this book!

My book-savvy dad, purchased this book for my 5 year old son's birthday. It has spectacular illustrations that will make you look twice - they are actually very detailed cut paper. My son is fascinated by deep sea life, and when he grows up, wants to be a scientist who goes down in submersibles to study creatures with bioluminescence. This book was great for feeding his insatiable appetite on the subject! I am buying a second copy as a gift for his preschool to have in the classroom. We especially liked the diagram on every page that shows the relative depth of the bizarre creatures as you go further and further down toward the Marianas Trench.

A read a review of this book in the New York Times Book Review and decided that it would be a good buy for my grand daughter. I always review these purchases myself to see how well I agree with the Times and in this case I do. I also always buy new book on Amazon and save a trip to the local book store (too bad bookstores!) I cautioned my daughter that when she reads this with my grand daughter that she should emphasize that the fantastic creatures featured in this book really do exist. With the many cartoon characters spewed at us on TV, one has to separate fiction from reality for the innocent. I'm awaiting my grand daughter's reaction to this informative book.

I received Down, Down, Down for my birthday and read it in one go. Each double-page spread covers a different stratum, from the surface of the water on down to the Marianas Trench in the deepest part of the ocean. The cut and torn paper illustrations are beautiful and clever, and there are more facts are to be found in the pages at the back. Who knew that the man o'war isn't a single creature, but a colony, or that plankton is a kind of animal-vegetable-bacteria buffet?

And wait till you hear about the home life of the hairy angler!

This book is genius. Beautiful and informative. You can't go wrong with Steve Jenkins. He is one of the most brilliant author/illustrators of our time. Your child will LOVE this title.

After reading reviews of this book on Amazon, I ordered it for my grandson, age 11, who is interested in sea life and in paper artwork. When I first flipped through this book, I thought that some of the art plus the increasingly darker pages might not appeal to a kid. I was wrong. When my grandson started looking at it and reading it, he started telling me about interesting facts he was learning that he hadn't seen in other sea life books or articles; he also thinks it's "cool" that pages get darker as they show deeper parts of the ocean. He has read it several times and keeps it accessible on my coffee table rather than in his bookcase. This book is a winner. I'll be ordering another copy to be shipped to my granddaughters (ages 5 and 8), who live in CA and go once or twice a year to a hugh aquarium.

This book is a winner. I'm delighted with the illustrations; even a science-minded student will appreciate Jenkins' beautiful creations. Next, the scale on the right side of every two-page spread is such a great idea. It's the perfect way to show how little of the ocean is sunlit and how much, much more of it is dark and almost unknown. Finally, I really like the way Jenkins gives just enough information about the creatures on each page as we "travel" deeper, but then at the back of the book has a reference section for readers who hunger for more detail. This book has something for everyone in the family!

My Grandson Cooper, who's 4, went to his local library with his mother. Her picked out Down, Down, Down, and couldn't put it down! This is exactly what he said, "Grandma Chickie, I'm obsessed with this book." And proceeded to tell me word for word about the book. So, being a Grandma who loves books, I had to purchase him the book so that he could keep it forever and ever.

You realize how much of the ocean is simply unknown asyou read this book.

"Down, Down, Down" shows -- graphically -- the tiny sliver of ocean that humans know -- the surface, the sunlight region, and the regions patrolled by submarines... and then takes us deep. The illustrations are beautiful, made with cut paper, and full of motion and light, but the sliding depth meter (for me) is the most interesting part of the book.