COULD YOU EVER DIVE WITH DOLPHINS!?

An invitation to imagine what it would be like to live, swim, play, and even eat as bottlenose dolphins do.

Enhanced by illustrations that pair stock photos with cartoon scenes of stubby-limbed, racially diverse children floating in imagined nautical settings, this series opener pours out relatively hefty doses of dolphin data. Markle presents facts in ways that invite emulation—we learn on one page that dolphins sleep with one eye open; the facing page depicts a brown-skinned, hijab-wearing child with one eye closed. And the author informs us that dolphins identify themselves with individual squeaks and whistles; an accompanying image shows a tan-skinned young wheelchair user rolling along the sea bottom and squeaking and squawking away. Markle also uses language that will resonate with her target audience; she tells readers that as social animals, the finny frolickers hang out in age-based groups or, sometimes, “super groups” of 1,000 or more, are ever alert to “stranger danger” from sharks, and have seafood for every meal (“Snacks, too!”). Morales brings readers back to dry(ish) land with a final transition from the deep sea to a swimming pool, and a world range map supplies a final splash of information for this imagination-stretching venture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Immersive fun for young nature and wild animal lovers.