Customer Reviews

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau

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My 9 year old son, who is obsessed with sharks, used this book for a biography presentation on Cousteau. When we started looking for books at our local library on Cousteau, all we found were tons of adult reading material and virtually nothing from a child's perspective. This book introduced Cousteau to the young reader with simple words and beautiful illustrations to inspire future marine biologists. This book tells the story of Cousteau as a youth growing up. Who would have known that Cousteau became a swimmer/diver because he was a very sick child and his doctor told him to swim to gain strength. This kids book was long overdue.

Like many parents our age, I grew up with Jacques Cousteau, the Frenchman who brought the life below the water level to everyone's homes via TV and films. Here is a colorful, friendly picture book about his life and accomplishments. Curious episodes of his life and his conservation efforts are explained in simple language. Also, beautiful, direct quotes from him are found throughout the colorful book, such as:

If we were logical, the future would be bleak indeed. But we are more than logical. We are human beings, and we have faith, and we have hope.

The art is reminiscent of illustrations from the 60s and very pleasant. We read this aloud and some of the facts of his life listed on the last page. We also found plenty on You Tube including longer films of his adventures on his ship, the Calypso.

My 3 year old and I are currently working through a themed curriculum about ocean creatures. I went to the library to pick up a dvd on the deep ocean (his favorite thing right now) and bumped into this little gem. I was very inspired by Jacques Cousteau as I was growing up. This story really brought back some fond memories of this man for me. My 3 year old listened intently to the book and asked some questions along the way and talked about Jacques Cousteau a few more times throughout the day today. He seems to be genuinely intrigued. I plan on buying this book for our home library now. I think Jacques Cousteau is such a wonderful example of so many things...persevenace, ingenuity, adventure, responsibility, preservation, education, etc. I hope my son becomes attached to his character just as I did. There is a lot to learn from him. I love the pictures in this book and did not find them "dizzy" as one reviewer said. They are very whimsical and beautiful. I love the story...simple, yet very informative. Lastly, I really enjoyed reading the quotes (I didn't read them to my 3 year old because I figured it might distract him, but I appreciated reading them on my own).

There are adult coverages of explorer Jacques Cousteau's life, so it's refreshing to find a child's picturebook version that covers Cousteau and his team's inventions, pursuits, and contributions. Oversized, artistic drawings accompany the simple survey of Cousteau's life and motivation for exploring the sea, making for a perfect choice for newcomers to biography.

When Jacques Cousteau was a young boy, he was "weak and sickly." His doctors thought that one of the best things he could do was to get into the water and swim so he would become stronger. It didn't take much encouragement because he soon found out that beneath the surface of the water his frailty was minimized. His curiosity was insatiable. He loved to "tinker and build all sorts of gadgets" and even took apart his new movie camera to figure out its secrets. When he was older he was seriously injured in a car accident. He was told "he would have to wear arm braces for the rest of his life, but he refused to accept this." It was back to the water. No braces for Jacques!

When he was given a pair of goggles, his passion for the oceans increased. His insatiable curiosity drove him to invent the Aqualung with a friend, Emile Gagnan. He was now able to explore under the waters and see the magical world it held. More inventions followed that allowed others to explore with him. He was able to create watertight cameras and lights to film the teeming sea life. He purchased a boat and named it the "Calypso." He and his crew made a film entitled "The Silent World." This film was enormously popular and people wanted more and more. Cousteau told his audience that "The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish." The little sickly boy would keep on going. What could he do to top his own work?

I loved the magical undersea world that this book brings to life with its lively text and vibrant illustrations. The story about Jacques life is very nicely condensed. The author has chosen facts about him that young people will be fascinated by. My favorite pages were when he was exploring the Antarctic waters that were "teeming with penguins, humpback whales, and squid." The artwork is quite appealing with bright colors. Even the end pages swirl with sea life. There are numerous quotes scattered throughout the text. In the back of the book there is a timeline of significant life events and additional recommended book resources. This story of a sickly boy who brought the undersea world to life will appeal to young and old alike!

This is another great book with insights into the life of Jacques Cousteau! Previously I had read "Manfish: 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.

With every line and every stroke of color, Dan Yaccarino tells the intriguing story of Jacques Cousteau. The text rounds out the story but, truly, the illustrations do all the heavy lifting here.

To my baby boomer eyes, his style is retro or modern in the sense that it evokes graphics and cartoon style of the 1960s but it is also wholly fresh.

His sinuous and linear drawings are simple yet detailed. Yaccarino captures the distinctive Cousteau aquiline nose in every drawing, even the ones of him as a child. The two page spread of his ship Calypso is drawn with simple shapes and flat colors yet the almost indistinct shapes of the sailors on deck are altogether French with their characteristic berets and striped shirts.
The fluid lines invoke the ocean Cousteau is discovering. His color palette with incised designs imparts the look of batik prints.

Eloquent quotations from Jacques Cousteau himself appear in a round bubble on each page.

"The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish"

Elegant storytelling this!

I and my 5.5yr old son both like this book. The story is inspirational and well told. But I found the illustrations a bit distracting. The colors are very bright and there's so much of it. It hurts my eyes to look at some of the pages for very long. I guess I expected the illustrations to be more similar to the cover page. But it doesn't really matter; the story is enjoyable enough to endure a little dizziness while I read the story to my child.