The Aquanaut: A Graphic Novel
- Downloads：4527
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-01 06:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Dan Santat
- ISBN：0545497612
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Dive in to this whimsically adventurous graphic novel from Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat！
Ever since her father was lost at sea， Sophia has been moping around Aqualand， the marine theme park her dad and uncle created。 But Sophia's world is turned upside down when an "aquanaut" breaks into the park's research lab。
To her amazement， Sophia discovers that the aquanaut is not what it seems -- inside lives a band of four goofy sea creatures！ And when they all realize that Aqualand has evolved into something much darker than Sophia's dad had envisioned， Sophia is determined to help the aquanaut crew free the park's captive marine life before it's too late。
Ever since her father was lost at sea， Sophia has been moping around Aqualand， the marine theme park her dad and uncle created。 But Sophia's world is turned upside down when an "aquanaut" breaks into the park's research lab。
To her amazement， Sophia discovers that the aquanaut is not what it seems -- inside lives a band of four goofy sea creatures！ And when they all realize that Aqualand has evolved into something much darker than Sophia's dad had envisioned， Sophia is determined to help the aquanaut crew free the park's captive marine life before it's too late。
Reviews
Stacy Renee （LazyDayLit）
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This was cute and kind of sad at the same time！ Full review to come！
Aurora
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Could not get on board with the premise， and felt like the story jumped around waaaay too much to try to hide the fact that things didn’t really hang together。
Amelia G
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3。5 stars It's not necessarily bad， just a bit confusing at times and the pacing was off。 In general， it felt a bit rushed， but the characters and art were cute 3。5 stars It's not necessarily bad， just a bit confusing at times and the pacing was off。 In general， it felt a bit rushed， but the characters and art were cute 。。。more
Lynda
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It was a very quick read， but I never got the connection to how the story started and how it ended - at least as far as the timing of things。 I found it very confusing and didn't really understand the characters。 The artwork was great though。 It was a very quick read， but I never got the connection to how the story started and how it ended - at least as far as the timing of things。 I found it very confusing and didn't really understand the characters。 The artwork was great though。 。。。more
Sara
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Beautiful and heartfelt read。
Amy Lindberg
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Very funny story with some unexpected twists。 A group of sea creatures commandeers a deep-sea diving suit to travel to land and bring a notebook back to a scientist who had worked with them （but who drowned in the opening pages）。Lots about dealing with grief， managing fears， and I guess a little "standing up to the man。" Very sweet。 Very funny story with some unexpected twists。 A group of sea creatures commandeers a deep-sea diving suit to travel to land and bring a notebook back to a scientist who had worked with them （but who drowned in the opening pages）。Lots about dealing with grief， managing fears， and I guess a little "standing up to the man。" Very sweet。 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
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SM
Michelle
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The illustrations in this book are amazing！ There were times I felt I was watching a movie。 There are themes in this book that would definitely go over some kids heads but a very entertaining read。
Carey Blankenship
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A fun and easy read that deals with a lot of tough subjects！
Melanie Dulaney
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Dan Santat’s illustrations/graphic novels are fantastic！ 2011 “Sidekicks” was fun and he has created so much more since then。 “The Aquanaut” is a project that took the author/illustrator 10 years to complete and represents so much about his family， his life experiences plus musicians and scientists near and dear to his heart。 For middle grade readers， the book will simply be a fun fantasy about an antique diving suit manned by a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle， a blanket octopus and a crab who are tryi Dan Santat’s illustrations/graphic novels are fantastic！ 2011 “Sidekicks” was fun and he has created so much more since then。 “The Aquanaut” is a project that took the author/illustrator 10 years to complete and represents so much about his family， his life experiences plus musicians and scientists near and dear to his heart。 For middle grade readers， the book will simply be a fun fantasy about an antique diving suit manned by a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle， a blanket octopus and a crab who are trying to find a safe home。 Woven into the impossible are themes of family and environmental responsibility。 Adult readers will have to ignore several leaps in continuity and just focus on the art and creativity， but those in grades 4-6 will welcome this in their library’s graphic novel collection。 Free of profanity， sexual content， and any significant violence。Thanks for the print arc， Scholastic Graphix！ 。。。more
Sesana
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A heartfelt graphic novel about being stuck by grief。 The characters are all vivid， realistic， and sympathetic。 There's a healthy dose of humor， and the art is wonderfully vibrant。 I think the silly on the surface premise， dramatic opening scene， and comedy will hook a lot of readers in the target audience。 A heartfelt graphic novel about being stuck by grief。 The characters are all vivid， realistic， and sympathetic。 There's a healthy dose of humor， and the art is wonderfully vibrant。 I think the silly on the surface premise， dramatic opening scene， and comedy will hook a lot of readers in the target audience。 。。。more
Rebecca Ann
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A big wink at free Willy in this story haha， and I love the art style and the bittersweet story of friendship and loss。 The concept of the aquanaut adds a STEM component that makes this story especially quirky。 I wish there had been a little bit more time for character development， it was over in a flash， but the fast pace will keep lots of reluctant readers engaged。 I could see a big age range enjoying this story。
Nicole Rice
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Loved it。 12 stars and a chef's kiss Loved it。 12 stars and a chef's kiss 。。。more
Rebecca
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After seeing all the 4 or 5 star reviews I'm left wondering if my copy was missing pages。。。lots of pages。 After seeing all the 4 or 5 star reviews I'm left wondering if my copy was missing pages。。。lots of pages。 。。。more
Katie
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Starts with a tragic shipwreck and death and introduces sea creatures who take over a scuba suit and free aquatic life from a theme park。 A bit melancholy。 Give to readers of Sparks。
Stacey Adams
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Aqualand was started by Paul and Michel Revoy to preserve unusual sea life， to give it a safe place to live。 But finances and investors have made it into a theme park far from the research and educational facility they envisioned。 When Michel doesn't come home from a mission at sea his daughter Sophia is taken in by her uncle Paul。 But he doesn't have much time to give and Sophia is lonely and lost without her father。 But when a strange "Aquanaut" comes to Aqualand looking for safety Sophia befr Aqualand was started by Paul and Michel Revoy to preserve unusual sea life， to give it a safe place to live。 But finances and investors have made it into a theme park far from the research and educational facility they envisioned。 When Michel doesn't come home from a mission at sea his daughter Sophia is taken in by her uncle Paul。 But he doesn't have much time to give and Sophia is lonely and lost without her father。 But when a strange "Aquanaut" comes to Aqualand looking for safety Sophia befriends him instantly。 She helps as the Aquanaut finds more danger than safety at the park。 Trying to do the right thing for all sea life Sophia has her hands full。 The Aquanaut is a fun read。 Very creative and enlightening。 The graphics vivid and colorful。 。。。more
Sara Zeller
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Mom gave it 4 stars， Dad and the C buddy gave it 3。 It was a fun and heartwarming adventure！
Kristy
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This was very weird but super endearing and more emotional then I was expected。 I just really like Dan Santat and his style。
Melissa Ganka-Collins
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Wow， What a strange but engaging story。 Somehow Dan Santat made this story work！ As always， his art was the best part。
Murray
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After losing her father， who sank with his marine research vessel， Sophia encounters a mechanized aquanaut run by four sea creatures。 They are looking for her father's and uncle's Aqualand after finding his journal。 Sophia's uncle Ray is under pressure to further commercialize Aqualand while working on his secret research project and has little time for Sophia。 Sophia and the aquanaut crew are involved in various shenanigans that happen at the school science fair and an animal rescue。 Typical Da After losing her father， who sank with his marine research vessel， Sophia encounters a mechanized aquanaut run by four sea creatures。 They are looking for her father's and uncle's Aqualand after finding his journal。 Sophia's uncle Ray is under pressure to further commercialize Aqualand while working on his secret research project and has little time for Sophia。 Sophia and the aquanaut crew are involved in various shenanigans that happen at the school science fair and an animal rescue。 Typical Dan Santat poignancy and hilarity in middle grade graphic novel form。 。。。more
Becky B
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Famed marine scientist Michel Revoy's death at sea has an impact on a variety of people。。。and creatures。 His brother is struggling to keep their dream refuge for sea life， Aqualand， true to its mission AND fully funded。 His daughter Sophia， now an orphan， is floundering with only a distracted uncle as a guardian。 Her grades are shocking， and she's very lonely。 Unbeknownst to Paul Revoy and Sophia Revoy， there are a group of sea creatures who were also deeply impacted by Michel's death。 They have Famed marine scientist Michel Revoy's death at sea has an impact on a variety of people。。。and creatures。 His brother is struggling to keep their dream refuge for sea life， Aqualand， true to its mission AND fully funded。 His daughter Sophia， now an orphan， is floundering with only a distracted uncle as a guardian。 Her grades are shocking， and she's very lonely。 Unbeknownst to Paul Revoy and Sophia Revoy， there are a group of sea creatures who were also deeply impacted by Michel's death。 They have made a robotic suit out of his old diving suit that they hope will bring them to the promised safety of Aqualand they read about in Revoy's journal they found。 But when a bunch of sea creatures try to navigate the human world， things are bound to get a bit chaotic。This is tender， sweet， and funny。 You've got the scientist/conservationist up against Big Money。 You've got poor lonely Sophia。 You've got 2 people who are obviously still grieving。 And then you've got a goofy group of sea creatures looking for the promised land and bumbling through communicating with humans， learning human customs， and discovering that the creatures living at Aqualand have some deep needs maybe they can help with。 Those bumbling sea creatures help the people and themselves realize what they really need and get on a better track。 The story starts bittersweet but ends heartwarmingly， and of course， Santat's illustrations are fabulous at conveying all the emotions in his fun style。 Highly recommended。Notes on content: No language issues。 No sexual content。 There's a ship sinking in a storm at the start and Michel Revoy fades into the dark waters and you know he isn't going to make it。 A crab loses his father to a giant squid tentacle。 There are some sad and lonely animals at Aqualand， but the sea creatures set out to remedy their situations。 。。。more
Adam Sequoyah
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MPA ratings: G
Jennifer
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My apologies to Mr。 Santat for my low rating。 His work is usually some of my favorite for that of children's authors/illustrators。 First off， I want to know what Dan Santat has against Sea World。 Yes， it's a theme park， yes， it has animals， but， from what I've seen， they are usually rescued animals or those born in captivity。 This graphic novel had the underlying message that the coded park （very obviously Sea World since it was located in San Diego） exploits animals and treats them poorly and t My apologies to Mr。 Santat for my low rating。 His work is usually some of my favorite for that of children's authors/illustrators。 First off， I want to know what Dan Santat has against Sea World。 Yes， it's a theme park， yes， it has animals， but， from what I've seen， they are usually rescued animals or those born in captivity。 This graphic novel had the underlying message that the coded park （very obviously Sea World since it was located in San Diego） exploits animals and treats them poorly and that they need to be released。 From what I've seen （and I used to have annual passes to Sea World for many years）， Sea World is doing its part to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment and endangered species。 Anyone who jumps to the conclusion that these animals are being mistreated should probably do extensive research about how to release animals into the wild and why they should or should not be released。 Animals need to be acclimated before they can be released in the wild。 Please don't jump to accepting the alarmist hype that has been pushed online。 I'm sure there is mistreatment on some level at some places （research what happened to the animal star of Free Willy to see an example of mistreatment—mostly due to lack of proper funding—and the great lengths that had to be gone to to be able to release the orca back to the wild）， but this doesn't apply to every theme park and every equarium， nor to Sea World in particular。 If Santat had left this as a cute， fantastical story of animals who leave their ocean home using an aquanaut suit， who then wreak havoc， causing mischief at an aquarium， that'd be much more fun。 If he wanted to focus on the aspect of grief and processing loss， he could have left that as a primary focus as well。 。。。more
Poncho's Pages
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This book was very sweet and I loved the Aquanaut crew， but something about the storyline/pacing was hard to follow and felt random and confusing。
Alexis
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What a unique graphic novel！ I really loved the illustration style and the story。 It was so heartfelt and so powerful。
Becca
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3。5
Patricia
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Key points of the story are told through pictures， which meant I missed them the first time through。 （Graphic novel fail！） For the more picture attuned this is a good an interesting story of friendship and loss with fantastical elements。Read for Librarian Book Group
Peacegal
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4。5 stars--This junior graphic novel seems like a silly adventure on the surface—a group of sea creatures animate a robotic diver’s suit so they can explore the world “up above”—but AQUANAUTS dives into some surprisingly deep territory along the way， including the nature of family， loss， loyalty， and responsibility to others。The illustrations are a delight。 The humor and seriousness are well-balanced so the story doesn’t end up being a downer。 There’s also a subplot about the ethical problems of 4。5 stars--This junior graphic novel seems like a silly adventure on the surface—a group of sea creatures animate a robotic diver’s suit so they can explore the world “up above”—but AQUANAUTS dives into some surprisingly deep territory along the way， including the nature of family， loss， loyalty， and responsibility to others。The illustrations are a delight。 The humor and seriousness are well-balanced so the story doesn’t end up being a downer。 There’s also a subplot about the ethical problems of a marine theme park， another mainstream narrative signaling that we have perhaps reached a tipping point in the public’s acceptance of using whales and dolphins for entertainment。In all， AQUANAUTS is a wonderfully presented and touching graphic novel that will be an excellent choice for young comics fans in the upper elementary-middle school age group， as long as they are accepting of some sad/serious content。 。。。more
Mrs。MakesReadingFun
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LOVED IT！ My kids both really enjoyed this story- talk about an adventure， great themes to explore， and stunning illustrations。
Morgan Garratt
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