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Laken Slate grew up in Choctaw, Oklahoma, more than five hundred miles from the nearest ocean. But she developed an admiration for sea creatures. Laken is a former kindergarten teacher with a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. She loves to invite the littlest learners to discuss big concepts. Laken lives all over the world with her wonderful husband and two precious kids. As a US Navy spouse, she now sees the ocean quite a lot. This is her first picture book. Bindy James is an illustrator based in Brisbane, Australia. She has a degree in environmental science and one in graphic/motion design. Bindy is fascinated by the natural world, and since having children, she's also interested in how little ones relate to and learn from their local natural environment. She lives with her husband, two kids, and two pugalier dogs named Ziggy and Moose. This is her first book. www.bindyjames.com
What waits in the shadows of a whale fall? A huge skeleton becomes a haunted house in this spooky description of what happens after a whale dies and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. A pair of colorful fish venture within, encountering a variety of dangerous creatures: hagfish slime, a goblin shark, a vampire squid, a female angler fish dangling her light bait, octopuses, and even zombie worms. But wait, there’s more: “pinching crustaceans” and, finally, creatures such as clams that help finish off the bones entirely. Slate’s eerie exploration covers the same ground as Melissa Stewart’s Whalefall (2023), but with more atmosphere and less depth. James’ digitally created illustrations support the sense of menace. Unusual hues and strange sharp shapes against a black background suggest the darkness and otherworldliness of the ocean’s midnight zone (between 3,000 and 13,000 feet below the surface; once a dead cetacean reaches this level, it’s considered a whale fall). The text operates at two levels. Simply phrased sentences follow the fish through the decaying bones, with language that reads aloud well: “Dart through ribs! Duck beneath the backbones!” Text in a more expository voice adds information about the creatures and the threats they pose to the tiny explorers. This would be an entertaining, enlightening selection for a Halloween storytime; it also nicely rounds out existing collections of whale fall books. An appropriately spooky dive into a mysterious world. (author’s note, information on the midnight zone and whale falls, resources, bibliography, QR code linking to a website about a whale fall site) —Kirkus Reviews
