REVIEW: Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau By Jennifer Berne

BOOK NAME: MANFISH: A STORY OF JACQUES COUSTEAU

AUTHOR: JENNIFER BERNE

ILLUSTRATOR: ERIC PUYBARET

PAGES: 40

PUBLISHER: CHRONICLE BOOKS

AGE RECOMMENDED: 4+

Manfish is a tribute to the famous explorer, filmmaker, conservationist, and inventor Jacques Cousteau. Jacques was born in France and he loved to explore things around him. He was a curious kid and he tried to find answers to all his questions. He was so curious about cinemas and photography and decided to get a camera. Once he got, he started to film the underwater marine world with his friends. One day he dived into the sea with his new creation and it was a success and so he named it ‘Aqualung’. Along with his friends, he set sail to the whole world on a ship named ‘Calypso’, and with the help of Aqualung, they dived under the sea. They filmed around 115 films about the majestic ocean creatures and let the whole world know about them. Later, he realised that the sea creatures were dying due to humans dumping garbage and chemicals in the sea, he made movies to warn people and to save the sea. Later in his life, he became an activist for protecting our oceans and how to keep them clean.

This is a story about Jacques, a boy who loved the sea.

Jacques favourite thing to do was playing, experimenting and illustrating books.

Jacques was captivated by things around him and started to explore under the sea with his friends

Jacques and his friends along with aqualung and a big ship started to explore the ocean and they decided to film it — Jacques and his friends, along with aqualung and a big ship, started to explore the ocean and they decided to film it

They filmed the new world beneath the sea.

They found a new world beneath and was so intrigued by them. — They found a new world beneath them and was so intrigued by them.

The filming of Jacques and his crew were made into a movie and the whole world cherished it. — The filming of Jacques and his crew was made into a movie and the whole world cherished it.

Suddenly the sea he loved became poisonous and he is pleading each one of us to stop littering and save the planet — Suddenly the sea he loved became poisonous and he is pleading with each one of us to stop littering and save the planet

Look at the gorgeous illustrations on each page and how they are so vibrant. There are few foldout pages and when opened you can see the gorgeous illustration of under the sea. Each day I am learning new things from Nathan’s book and the story of Jacques is new learning for me. The author narrated the story aptly for a four-year kid and all the important part of Jacque’s life was taken in account. This book will be helpful for a child to know about the ocean and how to conserve the planet from hazards.

Through this biography, children are inspired to dream big. The author’s note at the end of the book says that Jacques always said, “Il Faut Aller voir,” roughly translated to mean, “We must go and see for ourselves,” which she says is “a wonderful way to start just about anything.” The book also helps children develop a respect for the earth and its creatures.

I highly recommend this book for your home library.

From the author’s note, you can read more about Cousteau’s work on his website, CLICK HERE

To read more book reviews from my blog, CLICK HERE

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