Sea Creatures from the Sky

February 1, 2018
A shark rhymes its perspective on the two human researchers who catch, tag, and release it from a "strange beast"--their boat."It stole me from the ocean, / and took me to the sky." Hooked by a decoy fish, the shark avows, "I should warn you about the next page. / Because if you look, you might scream. // I saw the two scariest creatures I've ever seen." Against a cloud-studded blue sky, Cortes depicts a black woman and a white man. After its release (alert readers might spy its post-encounter fin tag) the shark regales many, "from the whale / to anchovies," all of whom scoff at its tale's "complete impossibility." Cortes' premise has child appeal and even some STEM utility, and his lovely illustrations invite contemplation of the teeming worlds above and beneath the sea. The hip-hop-style rhymes yield a somewhat wobbly narrator, who conveys both an ignorance of humans and boats and a glib facility with "faces with beards," "heads with two ears," printed books, and the passage of two weeks' time. The depictions of the curve of the Earth in space and of the sky--cloudy or starry, always vast--are lush, but their expansiveness seems aligned more with the artist's expressive impulses than the shark's-eye story arc.Accept a slight current of illogic and enjoy this tale's accomplished visuals and percussive rhymes. (Picture book. 4-7)

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April 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-Abducted from its life underwater, a shark goes on a strange journey from the sea into the sky. There, it is handled and prodded and then released by two strange creatures, who readers will recognize as marine biologists. Once the shark is released by the scientists, it goes back to the other sea critters to tell them of the unbelievable encounter. Cortés's story certainly presents a unique perspective, but its rhyming scheme may be off-putting; sentence length changes frequently, and the meter is often off by a beat ("One bite, that's all it took. For this little fish had a hook"), so reading aloud can prove to be challenging. The phenomenal artwork is what truly makes this book special. The landscapes of the sea, the sky, and outer space are breathtaking. Cortés's different blending and thinning of the colors create a world of beauty. VERDICT This fascinating tale of perspective and point of view makes a fine addition for most collections.-Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

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