Panique Aquatique

by Dan Santat

Dive in to this whimsically adventurous graphic novel from Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat! Ever since her father was lost at sea, Sophia has been moping around Aqualand, the marine theme park her dad and uncle created. But Sophia's world is turned upside down when an "aquanaut" breaks into the park's research lab. To her amazement, Sophia discovers that the aquanaut is not what it seems -- inside lives a band of four goofy sea creatures! And when they all realize that Aqualand has evolved into something much darker than Sophia's dad had envisioned, Sophia is determined to help the aquanaut crew free the park's captive marine life before it's too late.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction, Animals, Comics, Childrens

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Julie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a word: wha??

I didn't understand this story from the first page to the last.

Why did I buy this graphic novel for my 11-year-old daughter, as a reward for the end of the school year? Why are the sea creatures inside an old fashioned diving suit, “steering it,” (which is completely implausible), and why are they able to breathe whatever is in the suit, and also air? Is it because of the mysterious “research project” that is mentioned briefly, but never explained?

Why am I asked to fill in all of the blanks for the author? Why have I been asked to supply the plot?

When I asked my daughter why she read this twice before I did (seriously, was I missing something?), she answered simply: “the art.”

Oh, yeah. True. The art is fantastic.

Here's my unsolicited advice to the author/illustrator: please, find an equally talented writer to dream up your next story and then bring it to life with your amazing illustrations.

[Afoma (Reading Middle Grade) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Aquanaut is a moving, emotion-packed graphic novel about grief, the environment, marine life, and family. I really enjoyed it and I think young readers will love this one. Author and illustrator, Dan Santat has crafted a deeply personal (see his Author's Note) story inspired by his relationship with his father and the care that went into this work is palpable throughout the story. The illustrations are out of this world and there's a touch of humor throughout this story. Readers will leave feeling inspired to care more about the environment but also hug their loved ones as tightly as they can.

Read my full review on my blog.

Many thanks to Scholastic for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those graphic novels that I might have never reached for if I hadn't just seen it at my local library and grabbed it on a whim, but WOW, I'm so glad that I did! I want to read more from this author right away because I enjoyed this so much. The characters, art, and story were all absolutely captivating and so endearing. I loved the idea of these sentient sea creatures figuring out how to live on land via an old diving suit, and I was on the edge of my seat worried for them and Sophia. Highly recommending this one!

✨ Representation: Sophia is half Brazilian

✨ Content warnings for: death of a family member (father/brother), grief, animal abuse (imprisonment, neglect, etc. in a theme park)

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[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know its all supposed to be just fantasy and fun for kids with lots of wild and impossible things happening, but I do need a story to at least have some sort of internal logic or consistency, and no matter how much heavy lifting I do in my mind to try to make the plot work, it just collapses into a heap of nonsensical junk. It doesn't help that the characters aren't particularly original or winning. Meh.


(Another project! I'm trying to read all the picture books and graphic novels on the kids section of NPR's Books We Love 2022.)

[Lovely Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Illustrations were great but I felt like the storyline had too many elements to the plot that it never really resolved.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and totally endearing story about family and adorable sea creatures pretending to be a man in a suit.

[Ray Nessly · Rating 4 out of 5]

--Caramel the Book Bunny reading Dan Santat’s graphic novel, The Aquanaut

The Aquanaut is a YA title, but I, an ostensibly grownup bunrab, liked it a lot. (It’s hot, so I’ve been exercising indoors lately, and I need diverting material on my elliptical bike, okay?!)
The drawings and colors are beautiful and fanciful, and the story is entertaining, moving, and surprisingly funny. The story combines fantasy, humor, and tragedy, as a young girl copes with loss. In the opening scenes, her father, Michel Revoy, is the captain of a sinking ship. He saves his life's work, Project Jules, and hands it to his brother. But he drowns at sea, taking his journal and a note in a bottle down with him. Michel and his brother (who survives) are marine biologists with red wool hats ala Jacque Cousteau’s crew, which the author states inspired the story.



Sodapop, a hermit crab whose shell is a can, makes eye contact (and claw to finger contact) with dying Michel. With the crab as captain, three other sea-critters, Carlos, Antonio, & Jobim (geddit?), inhabit a diving suit and somehow manage to get the contraption ambulating on the ocean floor, emerging in San Diego (I know it well), and raise a ruckus at “Aqualand”, a marine amusement park, patterned after Seaworld. (Went once, that was plenty). A familiar Free Willy type story develops, involving not only a captive whale but a giant squid. A giant squid kept in captivity? Well, that's just as likely a scenario as a crab, a sea turtle and a couple of octopi operating a diving suit and communicating freely with humans … but hey, I myself don’t require much in the way of verisimilitude when it comes to fantasy comix.
Ooh, verisimilitude. A ten dollar word for … factualness? That’s not much shorter and kinda clunky besides. How about … oh wait, did I just hear something?
“Hey, ‘professor!' it’s not a ‘comic’, it’s a GRAPHIC NOVEL!”
Oh right. Sorry. Graphic novel.





The artist/writer Shaun Tan would love this book. Because: diving helmets. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

A special shout out to:
https://bookbunnies.blog/2022/04/06/c...

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Santat's art in The Aquanaut is gorgeous and refreshing, but the storytelling is so-so. We start off strong with a sinking science vessel - pathos! Then, something in a pressurized suit climbs out of the ocean. What is that something? It's...a random collection of sea creatures?

My issue with The Aquanaut is that we're never really introduced to any of these sea creatures. They just appear in the suit and start doing stuff. They can talk, sure, but they hardly even have names. And Sophie, child of one of the drowned scientists, immediately bonds with...the suit? the sea creatures?...and takes them under her wing. All of this leads to the plot from Finding Dory, which is disappointing.

A strong set-up with a bland conclusion, but that art! The book looks great. I just wish I cared about the main characters.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars--This junior graphic novel seems like a silly adventure on the surface—a group of sea creatures animate a robotic diver’s suit so they can explore the world “up above”—but AQUANAUTS dives into some surprisingly deep territory along the way, including the nature of family, loss, loyalty, and responsibility to others.

The illustrations are a delight. The humor and seriousness are well-balanced so the story doesn’t end up being a downer. There’s also a subplot about the ethical problems of a marine theme park, another mainstream narrative signaling that we have perhaps reached a tipping point in the public’s acceptance of using whales and dolphins for entertainment.

In all, AQUANAUTS is a wonderfully presented and touching graphic novel that will be an excellent choice for young comics fans in the upper elementary-middle school age group, as long as they are accepting of some sad/serious content.

[Scott Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an elementary school teacher, I often rate some books through the perspectives of my students. This book is certainly a 5 star book in the eyes of an upper elementary student. Even from my own perspective it is easily at least a 4 🌟.
The characters are as unique as the story is. The illustrations are what pushes the book over the line into greatness. I recommend this book to all kids. Please read it if you can get your hands on it!

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this on a list on Kirkus and I knew I had to read it.

I loved the graphics and I loved the story of a young girl faced with a group of sea creatures looking for Aqualand - a place in "space" they imagine will be safer than living in the open ocean.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! I've been looking forward to this since forever it seems like. It's totally worth the wait: the only thing I disliked about it is that it wasn't like ten times longer.

Library copy

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever have the chance to hear Dan Santat talk about the creating of this graphic novel, don't miss that opportunity!
This story will live in my heart for awhile.

[HL · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art work is really great, are there some aspects in the storyline that could be more developed? Yes, but you can put two and two together to get four. It tells a story of family in all its forms and how loss can change that family. I would have loved for the author to go into depth into the big research project or developed the more “sinister” side of Aqualand, but the story that Santat presented was heartwarming and enjoyable.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming and beautifully drawn!

[Fiebre Lectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña completa: https://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/20...

No había oído hablar demasiado de esta historia, pero por la sinopsis y los temas a tratar, me daba la sensación de que la disfrutaría; asimismo, la recomendaban para fans de Buscando a Nemo, y ¡eso me llamó poderosamente la atención!

La vida de Sophia cambió por completo cuando su padre desapareció en el mar: está triste e intenta entretenerse en Aqualand, el parque marítimo de su familia. Su vida vuelve a sufrir un vuelco cuando pilla a un acuanauta, un traje de buzo pilotado por criaturas marinas, colándose en el laboratorio de investigación del parque, y que intentan sabotear el parque marino. Cuando le explican a Sophia lo siniestro que esconde Aqualand, ella no dudará en ayudar a estos pequeños seres a liberar a los animales cautivos.

[Jester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been on my GoodReads TBR for some years now. I've finally gotten around to reading it and was not disappointed, though it was not what I expected.

I expected a more juvenile story with goofy antics. Remember when SpongeBob showed Squidward to everybody in town wearing a salmon suit? That kind of antics. I was not expecting a heartfelt story about grief and family. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.

I liked the characters and the story. I was a bit hesitant the more I learned about the aquatic theme park, especially when it came to the killer whale, as I do not support such parks in real life. I’m glad to see they had a good outcome.

Note: Using new rating system starting 2025.

[Andrew Eder · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars! Great!! I was well drawn, well written, and had a really great storyline.

A bit goofy at times, it had a really endearing plot that pulled your heart a bit. There were happy and sad moments. The ending definitely gave me some feeeeelings. Outside of the talking creatures, though, it wasn’t very realistic of actions having consequences and not enough development for these problems.

I will say it felt very rushed like it could’ve taken things a little slower and unpacked some of the events a bit more. Each section was just a taste of what I wanted more of!

Definitely recommend!

[Apollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC copy

A really sweet story about some endangered sea critters learning to pilot an antique diving suit to find help on the surface. They make friends with an excitable little girl and her hard working uncle and attempt to save more than just themselves while they try their hardest to maintain a low profile on land.

Wonderfully illustrated with really great character designs!

[Lindsay♫SingerOfStories♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading through Hoopla for "Let's Get Graphic" readathon 2024

Three sea creatures turn an old diving suit into a land-walking aquanaut to deliver a message to a sea life scientist who lost his brother at sea five years prior. This was fun, well-drawn, and heartwarming, as it is a story of both family and friendship.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best graphic novels I’ve ever read. It’s funny, the art is fantastic, the characters are amazing…

It reminded me of Finding Dory.

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Santat has done it again! I think this may be one of his best books--the author weaves a story about family, fantasy, doing the right thing and dealing with loss in this fun-to-read graphic novel. The art is amazing, detailed and beautiful! Great story line, an author's note that gives the reader insight into the author's decisions and dedication in making this book happen, and a focus on the things that really matter! Two thumbs up! I have added this book to our next book order, so I can share it with my students in the next school year!

[Ashlee Null · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/10 ⭐️

[Lukutar ☘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute comic story about family, loss and facing your fears!

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that Santat is doing more GNs these days.

This one is about a bunch of sea creatures that take over a diving suit and go walking around on land. Starts out (in the pre-title page prologue) with a dramatic scene of a person drowning, so that pitched it darker than I think Santat might have intended. I also could have used a montage or two showing the passage of time in spots.

I liked the representation of a kid getting raised by her uncle.
Solid full color, though the coloring is largely tinted a kind of yellowy-brown, which felt a little muted to me.

Might take this out to schools, though. I love the image of an old-timey deep-sea suit walking out of the ocean.

Edit to add: Oh My Gosh, this was the runaway hit book of my May/June 2024 elementary school visits. I blew up a giant picture of an aquanaut and laminated it, then slowly unrolled it as I talked about how lucky we are here in WA to live by the ocean. When it was fully unrolled, I'd tell the group that this is a suit for someone you might call an Aquanaut.
"Raise your hand if you know what an astronaut is." Someone defines an astronaut.
"Raise your hand if you know what the word AQUA means in English." Someone defines aqua. "Now put those together - what do you think an Aquanaut would do."
"Now, if you saw something like this walking out of the ocean, what would you think was inside?" kicks off a guessing game of what's actually inside of the suit. After the group discovers the four different sea creatures inside the suit, I gave them a very quick&basic summary of the plot while rolling the thing back up and putting it away. So Fun! So many hooks for interaction!
I plan to use the giant Aquanaut prop as a photo op all summer long, and it will probably decorate my office after that. :)

[Phil J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't get it.

I like Beekle and some of Santat's other work, but this one was a miss for me. The illustrations were fun, but it was hard to tell where this was supposed to be going. I didn't understand why most of the book was realistic, but there were these talking sea animals that can sometimes live outside of water and operate machines. Can humans hear the sea animals, or just other sea animals? How did they become superintelligent? Are all sea animals like that in this world, or are these special? What's with the giant squid? Why is it so important to build a tank for a giant squid? I get that it was the dying brother's project, but why? The characters also didn't make a lot of sense to me and I had a hard time connecting to anything that was going on.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the art of this book that captivates me. Who better to do a graphic novel than this author who wows me every time?

Sophia's father was lost at sea doing the work he loved, with sea creatures. Since then, Sophia's uncle has tried to carry on his work at the sea park, Aqualand, that the two created. Sophia is astonished to meet the Aquanaut and she is even more astonished to discover the secret behind the Aquanaut. It doesn't take her long to get behind the mission of the Aquanaut and to help it in its quest.

A fun story with fantastic illustrations.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have greatly admired Dan Santat's artistic style for several years. Ten years in the making, this graphic novel is an excellent example of his artistry. A couple of octopuses, a hermit crab, and a sea turtle manage to repurpose a retro diving suit and drive it onto dry land (which they call space) in order to escape the dangers of the ocean. They meet up with a young girl, Sophia, who needs a science-fair project, and things get weirder from there on. This is a fun and fast-paced story, pitting money-hungry investors against those who value ocean creatures.

[Yuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really sweet but wow is it sad. Even though it ends on a hopeful, happy note, with the overall themes being about loss and how to preserve legacies without losing sight of the present, it's not a fun-times MG story. The art and colors are really nice. Pacing was a little erratic, which led to a couple little plot things that seemed to happen out of no where, but the main story itself was easy to follow.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted this to be about 20% weirder. As it is, it's a little weird with a lot of feelings, some of which felt forced. Gorgeous art, of course! Santat is an incredibly talented artist, I'm happy to feast my eyeballs on more.