THE DEEP!

Meet our aquatic neighbors, from sperm whales and vampire squid (“Velcome!”) to pigbutt worms.

“Well, hi there!” burbles a toothy deep-sea hatchetfish, swimming up to invite viewers on an unforgettable dive into ocean depths from the sunny epipelagic zone down to really deep, really dark hadalpelagic regions. Wonders aplenty await, from creatures with transparent heads and stomachs to sea angels, which change from male to female as they grow, carnivorous sponges, and siphonophores longer than blue whales. The author stoutly defends the reputations of the much maligned blobfish (“Blobfish? No, Blob Sculpin!”) and demonstrates a sure sense of theater with, for instance, a “Supersize Squid Showdown,” not to mention nods to the aforementioned pigbutt worm (“It’s not every day you see flying buttocks soaring through the seas!”) and the giant larvacean’s “magnificent snot palace.” In pursuit of a friendly vibe, Leigh puts smiles on the faces of creatures that have them (faces, that is) but otherwise draws her teeming wildlife in accurate detail. She also fills much of the open spaces in her mix of broad seascapes and inset panels with informative commentary and supplements the tour with closer looks at microenvironments such as hydrothermal vents and deadly undersea brine pools (“jacuzzi of despair!”) as well as special topics such as the continual descent of nutritious corpses and poop known as “marine snow.” She ends with further resources and eco-activities for readers who share her patent enthusiasm for denizens of the deep.

A broad and buoyant undersea venture.