A JOURNEY UNDER THE SEA

Explore the ecosystem of the Great African Seaforest.

Foster and Frylinck, founders of the Sea Change Project and part of the team that produced the Netflix film My Octopus Teacher, use some of their amazing underwater photographs to introduce a kelp forest ecosystem located off the coast of South Africa, a rich, biodiverse ocean world. In a gentle, leisurely tone, they invite readers to “dive into the clear, cold water…relax and explore.” The relatively simple text sits directly on the striking images. The first two spreads show the ocean from above, flying over the South African coast and then closing in above a swimmer. Under the water is an abundance of “curious creatures,” colorful fish, a seal pup, a tiny rockfish, and an octopus hiding behind shells and stones. Spread by spread, we meet more creatures until, finally, we see departing dolphins. The photographs are colorful and unusual, from distant views to astonishing close-ups; a look at a pyjama shark’s eye is especially compelling. The five final pages feature smaller versions of the images found within the book, with further identification and information. This is a delight on its own but would also pair well with Susannah Burhman-Deever’s If You Take Away the Otter (2020), illustrated by Matthew Trueman, or Nicholas Read’s The Seal Garden (2018), with photographs by Ian McAllister, both set in the kelp forests off North America’s West Coast. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Dive in!