From an early age, Sylvia Earle was fascinated by the animal and plant life around her, observing, collecting, and admiring. When she moved from a farm in New Jersey to a coastal city in Florida, Sylvia "lost her heart to the water." As she grew older, she pursued her passion and love for the ocean, becoming a pioneer both as a scientist and researcher and as a woman. She swam with whales, walked on the ocean floor, and even lived underwater for two weeks.
Nivola's beautiful, skilled illustrations brim with details and rich colors, creating a sense of the depth, majesty, diversity, and boundlessness of nature and the ocean in particular. In just one illustration of Sylvia's childhood explorations, I counted 20 insects and 11 animals. In another, she paints Sylvia next to a whale, giving the reader a sense of the immense size of the animal. The prose itself is also lovely and eloquent, with a gentle feel, and quotations and facts that bring Sylvia to life. The basic story reminded me a bit of 2011's Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell: childhood love becomes lifelong pursuit. It had that same sense of wonder. At the end, Nivola provides some additional information about Sylvia, and information about the state of oceans now and how humanity/civilization affects them.
See a preview here (know that it does not do the illustrations justice).
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