Illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz
3 stars
A beautiful example of the power of representation and the joy of doing what you love.
This book is an interesting mashup of a semi-autobiographical story mixed with magic and time travel. Meli loves exploring the waters of la Playita del Condado, especially the tidal pools. When she meets a talking crab, they go on a magical adventure that will take them through the coral reefs, to the bottom of the sea, and even through time.
I really liked the messages of the book. It shows the importance of representation and diversity, encourages children to follow their dreams even if they don’t see a lot of people who look like them in their field of interest, and promotes environmentalism and conservation. And of course, there are sharks. Always a plus.
There is so much packed into this book. But because of that, it became quite wordy and lost focus. The writing was quite clunky. Would work better for older kids as it is a pretty lengthy picture book.
Having said that, the artwork is absolutely beautiful. Each spread was breathtaking. Wonderful blending of fantasy and reality.
At the back is a note from the author, more information about different sharks mentioned in the book, a list of organizations, and translations of the the Spanish words and phrases used.
Overall, I loved the messages of the book, but the execution was very wordy. I think its scope was just too broad. Still an important addition to promote a love of science and encourage readers to ask questions.