Giant Squid Finalist Blurb

The following is the blurb that was submitted for Giant Squid as a finalist for CYBILS.

From the delay of the title page to Eric Rohmann’s murky deep sea illustrations, Giant Squid is a mystery just like the creature represented in its pages.  Candace Fleming’s choice of poetic text and the squirming, writhing layout of each line keeps the reader swaying as if being rocked by the ocean’s tides.  More forceful spreads when the giant squid captures its prey are accompanied by thick, powerful paragraphs.  A more traditionally labelled diagram following the story will help young readers identify each part of a giant squid and the author’s note goes into further detail about what we do and do not yet know about the giant squid.  I love the font choice of each back matter header.  The inclusion of an extensive bibliography as well as other books about giant squid will keep young scientists busy.  The acknowledgements indicate collaboration  with experts in the field and the section “Searching for Giant Squid Online” includes websites, but more intriguing, some of the first ever captured video footage of giant squid by Dr. Edith Widder.  Just as the giant squid has eluded predators and scientists, the squid portrayed on the pages by Eric Rohmann escapes us as well in a cloud of ink and a vanishing tentacle.  Fortunately, readers will love to seize this book and not let go, learning more about this creature hidden from view and yet, brought to life on these pages by Fleming and Rohmann.

{This blurb was written shortly before they were due, sometime over the holidays.  Today is 1/23 and the ALA Youth Media Awards were announced this morning.  Giant Squid won the honor for the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for the most distinguished informational books for children.}