From his boyhood in France through his adult years of exploration and the eventual founding of the Cousteau Society, the life of Jacques Cousteau revolved around his love of the sea. “The ocean was the most incredible place he’d ever seen, and he wanted to share its beauty with the world.” In addition to his passion for water, “Jacques also loved to tinker and [built] all sorts of gadgets,” including the Aqua-Lung, revolutionizing extended underwater dives. When Cousteau returned to the Mediterranean after traveling the world’s oceans, he found it changed. Pollution was killing off plants and animals, inspiring him to a lifetime of educating society about the value of the earth’s oceans and the importance of controlling preventable contamination. Stylized illustrations and a tall, thin format, mimicking the man himself, invite children to discover this pioneer of the planet’s waters. (Ages 5–10)

Jacques Cousteau was the world’s ambassador of the oceans. His popular TV series brought whales, otters, and dolphins right into people’s living rooms. Now, in this exciting picturebook biography, Dan Yaccarino introduces young readers to the man behind the snorkel.

From the first moment he got a glimpse of what lived under the ocean’s waves, Cousteau was hooked. And so he set sail aboard the Calypso to see the sea. He and his team of scientists invented diving equipment and waterproof cameras. They made films and televisions shows and wrote books so they could share what they learned. The oceans were a vast unexplored world, and Cousteau became our guide. And when he saw that pollution was taking its toll on the seas, Cousteau became our guide in how to protect the oceans as well.