posted on 11 Aug 2024

Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu

The combination of a beautiful and cunningly designed book, a fascinating subject and some brilliant artwork is, I would suggest, irresistible. Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu, who has an MA in design strategy from China's Tsinghua University and an MA in children's book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art, certainly fulfils all these criteria.

Set in a landscape format rather than the more usual portrait configuration and using predominantly grey tones flashed with white and subtle colours, we join a diver as they descend into the night sea. Shafts of light from the diver’s equipment cut into the dark and illuminate the astonishing plethora of life that spends its time in these dark, watery depths.

Opening the book in landscape format enable you to view the pages as if you were peering down into the depths and the overall experience is almost surprisingly immersive. The author/illustrator has made a brilliant decision to keep the drama of the illustration as uncluttered as possible and has, instead, come up with a series of opening, extendable flaps that can be opened up to reveal some revealing, informative facts about the environment and the creatures that you might encounter down there.

Join the myriad of small fish that depend on the coral reef, meet the tiny plankton -some of which glows with its own phosphorescence – or swim with the awe-inspiring Manta Rays which are giants in that environment. Speaking of giants, have you ever seen sperm whales that drift vertically to the surface as they sleep? Fascinating stuff.

If you are fascinated by the natural world but – like me – you’re not a fan of plunging into water, you’ll find this book an absolute must. But it’s not just the subject that makes this book so desirable because this is a real work of art. The book itself is an experience and that’s a rare attribute and one that can be appreciated by all ages – this is most certainly a book that crosses over from a children’s to an adult audience effortlessly.

Published by Walker Studio you will be able to get this book from your local independent bookshop – who will, of course, be happy to order the book for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

August 2024