Review by Booklist Review
If ever the description of a rare natural encounter will leave readers filled with wonder, look to these spare, luminous observations of a sperm-whale pod clustering about a just-born calf. Basing her work on a free diver's actual experiences, Cusolito describes how a mother whale presents her newborn to each whale in attendance--as well as to the awed diver suspended nearby--while carefully hovering in attendance as the newborn's crumpled flukes slowly unfurl, nudging it toward the surface periodically to take a breath, and at last leading it down into deeper waters. Becoming "one with the whales," the diver likewise must return at intervals to the surface to exhale ("hwaaahh!") and refill his lungs ("whooooh!") in a stately rhythm that finds visual echoes in Lanan's images of massive whales and their watcher curving around and about one another through deep fields of blue in a graceful "underwater ballet": "Who's studying whom?" The dance culminates in an eye-filling foldout whirl, with an equally enthralling glimpse in the back matter of a female sperm whale's anatomy, accompanied by further facts about whales and about free diving.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Cusolito (Diving Deep) starts this gripping real-time picture book account with a splash: as the work opens, a dinghy of people looking for sperm whales spots a clan, and a free diver slips over the edge. The diver's long, arcing flippers make him look like an aquatic creature himself as he approaches. Lanan (Jumper) captures with elegance the way the whales' massive bodies dwarf that of the diver, who realizes with amazement that the whales are guarding a newborn calf--"with wrinkled skin and folded fluke." Like the infant whale, who needs to be nudged to the surface to take its first breath, the diver, too, must head upward in "a rush of bubbles as he exhales, 'Hwaaahh!'/ breathes in, 'whooooh!' " When he dives again, he witnesses the whales joining in a moment of underwater communion that sees him involved, too. This breath-by-breath glimpse offers a magnificent snapshot of an otherwise hidden moment that conveys with deep emotional impact the parallels of creaturely life. Ample back matter includes creators' notes. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--8. (June)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Free divers, or those who dive in the ocean without any breathing equipment, claim that being unencumbered lets them immerse themselves in the underwater world, which allows for a strong connection to nature. Such is the case in this moving account when a free diver (based on Fred Buyle's recorded experience, accompanied by another diver, Kurt Amsler) finds himself in the midst of a pod of sperm whales. They are apparently gathering for the birth of a calf, an event never before known to have been witnessed in this environment by a human. Without a hint of anthropomorphism, the connections depicted between animals -- man and whale -- are both scientific (each must ascend to the surface to breathe) and suppositional (the birth is celebrated by the community). In each case, Cusolito clearly delineates between fact and speculation. Lanan's watercolor and ink illustrations bring readers into this majestic, alien environment, mirroring the diver's belief that the whales are welcoming him to this special event. When the calf is stable, the mother appears to nudge him toward the diver; man and whales swim together, their movements perfectly synchronized. The whales descend; the man ascends, "forever changed." Back matter offers a detailed diagram of a sperm whale, information about freediving and about whales, and print and digital resources for further inquiry. In addition, readers will find a selected bibliography and personal notes from author and illustrator. Betty CarterSeptember/October 2025 p.83 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
It's the whales' world, but sometimes lucky humans can visit. Unlike most kids' nonfiction about cetaceans, this book focuses on just one meaningful episode, an extraordinary encounter between a whale pod and humans. In 2014, freedivers Fred Buyle and Kurt Amsler floated among sperm whales in the Azores and, noticing that a calf had been born mere minutes earlier, photographed and filmed the animals. This splendid work gives readers a front-row seat to that event. Cusolito draws vivid parallels between the whales and the human (just one diver is depicted in this tale): Both diver and calf must kick their way to the surface to breathe, but the newborn cannot yet swim, and "helper females nudge baby upward while mother rests below." As the whales call to one another, the diver wonders what they're saying; in a climactic moment, the mother presents her calf to the diver, who "is one with the whales" for a brief time. They separate, and "he rides home in silence, forever changed." His silence is understandable--who could find words to describe such an experience? Fortunately, Cusolito has. Her concise yet eloquent text immerses young people in the watery setting, letting them feel the whales' clicks as they "tingle" and "vibrate" and emphasizing the strength of these animals' social bonds. Lanan's fluid, pristine artwork echoes the underwater photography, with clear, blue-washed images that suggest both immense grandeur and the shadowy sublime. The diver is light-skinned. A brief yet powerful moment of intimacy, inspiration, and awe. (whale anatomy diagram, further information on diving and sperm whales, further reading and websites, author's and illustrator's notes)(Informational picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
