All of Graeme Base's books are absolutely stunning from the story to the illustrations. The story is wonderful and only exceeded by the gorgeous illustrations. This book can be read cover to cover but then it is also fun to go back and solve on the hidden puzzles.
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The story revolves around essentially a real estate plot by a sinister organized crime family run by groupers and sharks. I won't spoil it but for the tags above. The scientific content revolves around an understanding or the role of ecology and pollution on marine habitats and the variations in how different species respond to that pollution and the noir style investigation of the fish-detective main character mirrors what might be a valid line of inquiry for an ecologist in the same region. Gorgeous illustration which doesn't shy away from anatomical detail and lyrical rhyme makes this an easy read for a variety of audiences. ( )

I love the children's books by Graeme Base. They are gorgeously illustrated, to the point of being art. This one is a sophisticated story that rhymes, and children seem to love rhyme. I still love it. It's an adventure story set under the sea with various hilariously illustrated characters -- fish and sea critters -- fighting over territory with an apparent oil or chemical spill ruining a reef. The art is priceless. This is one intelligent and talented author.

This is a great book for children on more than one front -- it exposes them to beautiful art and also to the rhythm of poetry with an adventurous story line. It's a large book with a cast of characters before the story and a map of the sea floor where the story takes place. ( )

This story is about fish who are bullied by a bigger fish until they all decide to stand up together against him. There is also an underlying theme about ecology and water pollution and greed. The artwork is very detailed. The entire story is told in rhyme.

I read this book aloud to a couple of kindergarten children. The little girl felt sorry for the fish who were being bullied. She kept asking if they would be all right. The little boy had nothing to say until the end, and then he said, "That sure is a long book!"

With that in mind, the author has actually divided the story into sections, so it would make a good read-aloud book reading a section each day. It would make a good book to read during a nature lesson, with its ecology theme. It also is a good book to read if the class is experiencing bullying. ( )