Across the Wide Ocean: The Why, How, and Where of Navigation for Humans and Animals at Sea
Navigators of all ages, but especially children ages 8 to 12.
from the flap:
A turtle,
a shark,
a whale,
a submarine,
a container ship,
and a sailboat named Rosita.
Where are they going?
They're heading across ––
over, through, and under ––
the wide ocean.
And you're going with them.
All life began in the oceans, and so much still remains there, leading an existence mysterious to most of us. In the world's last uncharted frontier, most things are on the move –– often a long move. Using maps and charts, oceanography and navigational tools, intrepid explorers and researchers have followed the ocean's pathways and created some of their own. Now it's your turn.
You are holding in your hands the key to a journey –– your journey. One teeming with science and adventure, facts and fun, danger and intrigue. A journey that includes diving deep in a submarine, docking a container ship, migrating with right whales, and hunting with sharks. From the ocean floor to the North Pole, the whole ocean awaits you.
Are you ready to dive in?
about the artwork:
This is the first book I illustrated myself start to finish. It's tricky to find models, so sometimes I used photographs. Whenever I could I drew from real life –– such as the container ship port in Manzanillo, Mexico, where R/V Atlantis was docked. We were waiting there to set out to sea for four weeks of diving in the deep submersible vehicle Alvin on the East Pacific Rise.
I went to the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston to draw baby loggerhead sea turtles, to the New England Aquarium in Boston to draw adolescent ones, and to The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut, to draw fully grown ones. Blue sharks and right whales aren't found in aquariums, so I drew them from photographs. And this fall, when I saw a whale skeleton at Chicago's Field Museum, I correctly identified it as a right whale!
Most of the backgrounds are made of acrylic paint and/or collage. I even cut the maps out of colored paper with my x–acto knife. I learned the hard way that it's a dumb idea to hold the knife in your mouth while you're gluing something down for a collage. And I learned to mix so many different shades of blue. (But blood does not mix well with them.)
My pet count during this book:
During this book we had two cats –– Stuart Big and Taegu Toad, and two dogs, Yogi Bear and Princess Rosamund. A wonderful thing happened just as the book was finishing up: two baby slider turtles came our way briefly. Nancy adopted them and named them Ula –– which means "jewel of the sea" and Ulf. Pretty good names for turtles!
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