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Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau

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Before Jacques Cousteau became an internationally known oceanographer and champion of the seas, he was a curious little boy. In this lovely biography, poetic text and gorgeous paintings combine to create a portrait of Jacques Cousteau that is as magical as it is inspiring.

34 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2008

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About the author

Jennifer Berne

15 books20 followers
Jennifer Berne is an acclaimed children's author whose books include On a Beam of Light, Manfish, On Wings of Words (all Chronicle), and Look Up with Me (Katherine Tegen Books). Jennifer lives in Columbia County, New York, and spends her summers sailing along the coast of Maine.

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5 stars
762 (40%)
4 stars
725 (38%)
3 stars
318 (16%)
2 stars
51 (2%)
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17 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 260 reviews
Profile Image for Prabhjot Kaur.
1,134 reviews218 followers
June 16, 2022
Beneath the water he was surrounded by silvery green forests of sea plants and fish he had never seen before. Everything was silent and shimmering. It was a whole new world.

Jacques Cousteau was an oceanographer and this is his biography in simple words. It highlights his love for the ocean and how he learned to scuba dive and invented a few things with his crew. I loved the art but the wording could have been poetic. Overall, a good read with an important message.

4 stars
Profile Image for Matt.
4,827 reviews13.1k followers
December 29, 2016
Neo would like to scuba dive when he is bigger and swims with greater ease.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
4,784 reviews
January 15, 2010
Last night was a really, really good night for children's books--I read many five-star books--and this one started it off right. It's a beautifully told story of Jacques Cousteau, famous oceanographer, from his first curiosity and infatuation with the sea to his inventions to his movies and exploration to his conservation efforts. An interesting biographical note in the back is included. All I can say is, what a cool and inspiring guy! I love how the story shows how his childhood dreams and interests (in the sea, in inventing, in directing movies--which he usually directed and starred in, too!) developed into his grown-up vocation (and advocation). The illustrations are lovely and fascinating and are done by a French illustrator which I think adds a nice touch given Cousteau's nationality.

Best of all, this book inspired me to want to read more about Cousteau's life--preferably through one of his many books.

Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Preeti.
220 reviews195 followers
January 30, 2014
Gorgeous, short but sweet book that highlights Jacques Cousteau's life. The language is simple and perfect for appealing to kids. I really love that it tries to get children involved in protecting our environment by linking it to Cousteau's message, especially on the final page of the story.

The main thing I wanted to mention is that I originally read the ebook version of this since it was available right away from my library. It was... nice but I knew I was missing something. So I ended up getting the physical book version and whoa! What a huge difference. The illustrations really come to life and you're able to emerse yourself in them. This is one of those cases where the ebook can never do this kind of physical book justice, and I feel that that may be the case for many children's books. I absolutely fell in love with the illustrations here. Get yourself the real book version of this - you won't be disappointed.
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,973 reviews265 followers
March 9, 2021
American author Jennifer Berne and French illustrator Éric Puybaret team up in this picture-book biography of French explorer, inventor, oceanographer and film-maker Jacques Cousteau. From his early childhood, when he found water so fascinating and made his own home movies, through his time as a sailor, the narrative here chronicles how Cousteau eventually found a way to pursue his one true passion: exploring the world's oceans. Inventing an Aqua-lung, which allowed him to stay underwater longer than ever before, he recorded what he saw with his friends and colleagues, opening up a whole new world - the underwater world - previously unknown to humanity...

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau is the second picture-book biography of Cousteau that I have read, following upon Dan Yacarino's The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau , and on the whole I found it quite engaging. Berne's narrative is involving, and she manages both to capture the allure that the sea had for Cousteau, and to highlight all the many areas of achievement where he excelled. The accompanying artwork is lovely, with lots of bluish-green tones underwater, and some really beautiful depictions of aquatic life. I do feel that there should have been some more information as to dates, something entirely missing from both the main narrative and the author's note. Many child readers won't already be familiar with Cousteau, so that information could be very helpful to them, in situating him in a historical context. Leaving that criticism aside, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers interested in the oceans, in exploration, or in Cousteau.
Profile Image for Ann.
540 reviews
September 13, 2010
I know about Mr. Cousteau, but I admit that I know a very small amount of details (I blush to admit this). So, it was very enlightening for me to read "Manfish" which tells of Cousteau's childhood and young adult life, and how his various interests worked together to help him become one of the people to first document never-before-seen underwater life.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought the narrative did a good job of keeping the flow of the story, even though it skips several years in Cousteau's life to go from main point to main point.

I thought it was nice to include information about Cousteau's inventions (I hadn't realized he'd invented the Auqalung!?) as well as his friends and diving partners.

I thought the feel of the illustrations fit the text really well. Sometimes the images felt a tad off, like they belonged with the next page or something, but this is very picky and didn't really distract from the story.

I can only imagine what it must have been like to be one of the first (or the first) person to lay eyes on the world deep under the waves. To be the first to see so many incredible creatures, and to make all those discoveries. How exciting it must have been!

This book is definitely informative, and definitely worth a read!
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,213 reviews2,341 followers
September 25, 2018
Great story for kids!

Manish is a great story of the inspirational and brilliant Jacques Cousteau! I grew up wanting to watch his every show and read his every article! He followed his dream and this is what this book shows.
Profile Image for La Coccinelle.
2,259 reviews3,568 followers
April 4, 2019
When I read a biography--even in picture-book format--I have certain expectations. It can't just be airy-fairy text and illustrations without giving me specific facts. While this book does offer some information about Jacques Cousteau's life and what he did, it fails to offer even the basics such as when he actually lived. I shouldn't have to Google that after the fact (unfortunately, that information wasn't even included in the author's note).

The illustrations are nice, but kind of bland. I wasn't really engaged, and I found myself flipping past them rather than really examining them. This is a book about the wonderful world under the sea! If it was meant to inspire me, it didn't do a very good job.

So this was a bit of a disappointment. Jacques Cousteau was probably a fascinating man... but you wouldn't necessarily know it from this little biography.
4,092 reviews28 followers
August 12, 2008
I have my 4 year-old twin grandsons 4 afternoons a week and they are my picture book testers. They picked this up off the new book shelf today at the library and had to read it the minute we got home. It was a hit with them - we read it three times in a row - and with me too! This is a beautifully illustrated and inspiring story of the great Jacques Cousteau. The pages are in lovely shimmery colors conveying the sense of water and the beautiful world beneath the sea. Cousteau's inventive and adventurous spirit shines out amidst lots of interesting information. I didn't know that Cousteau also invented wet suits and flippers. The ending pages hand the custody of the sea to the young readers in a sweet and hopeful way.
Profile Image for Kellee Moye.
2,923 reviews339 followers
March 17, 2020
http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=4307

Jacques Cousteau may be one of the most brilliant, interesting, overlooked men in history. The more I read about him, the more I realize what amazing things he did that were so innovating. This bio of him was just as good as The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau.

3/17/20 Read with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy during Shark Story Hour
5,870 reviews146 followers
October 24, 2020
Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau is a children's picture book written by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Éric Puybaret. It focuses on the early life of Jacques Cousteau and his love for the sea.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author, and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-Lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.

Berne's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and lyrical. This poetic profile of Jacque Cousteau explores his childhood and his love of the waters. Backmatter includes an author's note. Puybaret's illustrations are shimmering, stylized seascapes, depicting long-bodied divers slipping sinuously through schools of brightly patterned fish and other sea life.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. This moving tribute to the great nautical observer and filmmaker is shot through with an authentically childlike sense of adventure and the thrill of discovery. Curious about the world, and especially the oceans, from his earliest years, Cousteau experimented with cameras, dreamed of flying and grew up to combine these interests – inventing the aqualung along the way so that he and his friends could see and record more of the deep's treasures.

All in all, Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau is a wonderful profile of a doer and a dreamer in a fresh interest in discovering, and in caring for, our world’s wonders.
Profile Image for katyjanereads.
747 reviews44 followers
May 10, 2018
1. My favorite part of this book was the one page where you had to turn the book the opposite way as if you were deep in the ocean with Jacques.
2. In the author's note it says that whatever he was exploring he would start off with a cry. "Il faut aller voir" which translates to "We must go and see for ourselves." I loved this so much. I am very much this person when I am exploring in the woods.
3. "From the very beginning little Jacques loved water-the way it felt on his hands, his face, his body. And water made him wonder." SAME. I grew up as a fish. And I'm still a fish. Water is my happy place.
Profile Image for Rahmadiyanti.
Author 15 books173 followers
July 24, 2021
Tahu kisah Jacques Cousteau sepertinya sudah lama banget, mungkin waktu SD atau SMP. Saat lagi browse picture book menarik di Scribd, eh nemu ini.

Biografi Cousteau yang dikemas cukup padat dan ilustrasi menarik. Dimulai dari masa kecil Cousteau--yang sejak dini memang sudah tertarik dengan dunia laut, usahanya membuat pakaian menyelam yang menunjang kegiatannya menjelajah bawah laut, hingga kepeduliannya pada kelestarian bawah laut.

Bagus lah buat mengenalkan anak-anak profil tokoh yang cukup langka ini.
Profile Image for Gabrielle Stoller.
2,255 reviews44 followers
April 29, 2022
Excellent biography about Jacques Cousteau. However, the text is far too wordy and the choice of the font is absolutely terrible! It's too thin for the dark color palette of the pages.

I get the dark colors.....exploring the ocean is dark hued and mysterious. But something with the visuals needs to be different in order for this book to feel approachable to readers.
Profile Image for Amy Spour (bookish.contentment).
455 reviews
March 2, 2021
The illustrations in this book are gorgeous and I love the message about caring for the planet. It’s great to find a biography that’s accessible for Y2/3 children and I can’t wait to use it in school soon.
62 reviews1 follower
Read
March 27, 2018
This is a great biography for young kids, older preschoolers through early elementary. It's a little long for most read-aloud settings, but it clearly introduces the subject in a way that demonstrates why a kid might be interested in learning about Cousteau. The illustrations are whimsical but fitting. The back matter is short but high quality.

I'm visiting a class of four and five year olds learning about France, and I'm going to try this!
Profile Image for Amanda Brooke.
1,058 reviews12 followers
June 19, 2023
I just found this in a classroom library and read it aloud to the first graders I'm working with today. We are having a sub shortage, so my library is closed while I cover 1st grade. It was fun explaining how I watched Jacque Cousteau on TV when I was their age. I forgot that he invented the aqualung. I paused to explain that he had to make his own wet suit and flippers because you couldn't buy them at the store. One student pointed out that Fred Meyer opened in 1925. How would they just know that?! So then I had to explain how and when the superstore was invented. Kids today have no idea!
Profile Image for Villain E.
4,000 reviews19 followers
July 18, 2021
Interesting. I definitely learned some things about Jacques Cousteau. There are pages where the art was dark and the text was black, so I had trouble reading it.
40 reviews
November 5, 2017
Summary: This book is a story about the life of Jacques Cousteau and all that he has discovered. He grew up very interested in the ocean and wanting to discover all that was in it. Him and his friends created things for scuba diving where they could stay underwater longer. They then decided to explore the word's oceans on their ship the Calypso. They filmed all the plants and animals that they found in the ocean and created movies from what they discovered. Later in his life he became an activist for protecting our oceans and how to keep them clean.

Evaluation: I enjoyed reading the book, it was child friendly even though it was very informational about Jacques Cousteau. I liked the illustrations and the layout of the book to inform readers about Jacques life and accomplishments.

Teaching Idea: I would use this book to teach about oceans and the animals that live in them. The author talks about specific animals and plants in the ocean and I would have the students do research on these animals and discuss what they have found. I would also use this book to have students learn more about global warming and what affects this is having on the environment.
Profile Image for Laura Salas.
Author 124 books163 followers
August 1, 2017
What a gorgeous book! This biography of Jacques Cousteau is a dreamy, wonderful adventure. It shares marine inventor and explorer and conservationist Jacques' life and accomplishments, but more importantly, it shares the quality that helped him do it: a sense of wonder. Jacques wondered about lots of things, from how cranes worked, to how movies were made, to how a person might be able to breathe underwater. Although his love of the ocean eventually led to his life's work, you get the sense while reading this book that Jacques could have been absolutely anything, and that he would have made a difference in whatever field he chose--all because he wondered. He was curious and industrious and determined. What a great model for kids, no matter where their interests lie.

The writing is terrific. The facts are clear, the anecdotes are kid-friendly, and there are plenty of wonderful word choices. Here are just a couple of my favorite bits:

"At that moment Jacques knew his life was changed forever. His eyes had been opened to the wonders of the sea."

"Jacques, Philippe, and Did gathered a crew, their aqualungs, their hopes, and their dreams, and set off to explore the inside of the sea..."

"...with eyes on long stalks, buried so deep in the sand they looked like a garden of eyes."

And the terrific ending, speaking directly to kids: "Jacques dreamed that someday it would be you, exploring worlds never seen....Worlds that are now yours. To discover. To care for. And to love."

The art by Eric Puybaret is fabulous, too.

My only nitpick is that I would have liked a bit more backmatter. But a stellar book!
Profile Image for Linda .
4,191 reviews52 followers
February 9, 2014
Thanks to Carrie Gelson (where There’sABookforThat.com gives me many terrific recommendations), I discovered this book that’s been out for a few years, and belongs in the group of terrific picture book biographies that all should be aware of. I grew up watching Jacques Cousteau’s amazing documentaries on television, and although I was born by the ocean, we moved to land-locked Missouri before I could really experience it. It was a long time before I really “saw” the ocean, so Cousteau’s work inspired a love that I couldn’t find elsewhere. I loved the story of his constant curiosity for how things worked. Fascinated by machines, he built things, took things apart, and then discovered movie cameras! Eventually, Cousteau discovered the mystery and beauty of the ocean, thus beginning the lifelong passion we know of today. Eric Puybaret’s illustrations show that beauty too, and trace Cousteau’s growing up from his wish to fly (showing him pretending to ‘fly’ as he swam in the ocean), to his desire to breathe underwater (he invented the ‘aqualung’), and finally to buying an old warship which he christened the Calypso, and his many voyages of discovery which he so generously shared with millions. It’s a book that will delight, and there are many YouTube videos that are available online from the Cousteau films.
Profile Image for Stephanie Metcalf.
9 reviews
October 13, 2016
This beautiful biography about the life of Jacques Cousteau is captivating from the very first sentence. "...a manfish, swimming, diving into the unknown, exploring underwater worlds no one had ever seen and no one could ever have imagined." I want to discover new worlds! I love the ocean and teaching about it. This book will be a wonderful addition to my ocean unit for my K/1 students, but I believe it would be a wonderful addition for 2nd and 3rd grade students as well. I can't wait to ask my students, what is a manfish? I will have them draw and write about what they think it is. Then we can read the story of Jacques and his love of the water and exploring and what it turned into. He turned his passion into his career, an excellent message for our students to hear.

This was a WOW book for a few reasons. The message that Jacques Cousteau wanted to send, that we need to protect our oceans and our planet is still so important. This book is another way that we can get that message to our students. I loved the pictures in this book and how they showed a glimpse of what the author wanted us to see but left some to our imagination. Teachers can use this book in so many ways; adjectives, visualizing, cause and effect, just to name a few.
Profile Image for reading is my hustle.
1,673 reviews348 followers
August 13, 2016
Bubbles rising through the silence of the sea...

Another beautiful tribute to a curious little boy. Manfish shows us that Jacques Cousteau was many things- an explorer, a filmmaker, a conservationist, and an inventor. Young children will enjoy exploring the underwater world through the beautiful illustrations of fish, coral, whales, and other sea life.

Profile Image for Amy Kneece.
93 reviews24 followers
September 14, 2014
Excellent biography of Jacques Cousteau for young readers with a wonderful message to protect our planet and marine life! There are additional suggested resources in the back, including Cousteau's movies, books, and The Cousteau Society website (www.cousteau.org).
470 reviews25 followers
August 29, 2017
Really love the Eric Puybaret illustrations and the text with its focus on discovery and inquiry was also really, really good.
8 reviews
December 1, 2021
This children’s book is a biographical account of the life of Jacques Cousteau and how his curiosity led him to eventual celebrity status for his conservation and marine education efforts. The story begins when Jacques Cousteau was an active young boy, curious about all things that involved water. He enjoyed hands-on activities and had a creative mind. His curiosity led him to an interest in film-making. One day, as he was filming fishermen catching fish, a friend offered him a pair of goggles to see what was happening underwater. This glimpse of the “magical underworld” beneath the water sparked a lifelong passion of ocean exploration. Jacques Cousteau was a problem solver, so he figured out what was needed to further explore the oceans and invented what didn’t already exist. He built a waterproof case for his camera, a rubber suit to keep him warm underwater, flippers to help him swim better, and an “aqualung” to help him breathe underwater for longer periods of time while he was filming and exploring. Jacques Cousteau let his curiosity motivate him throughout his life, and as a result became the father of the marine conservation movement.

This story can be used in the K-2 classroom as an interesting introduction to the biographical genre of books. Jacques Cousteau is a unique “character” in the history of the world. He followed his curious nature and ended up on a quest to save the oceans. His curiosity was highlighted throughout this book and each time he questioned something, he took action and learned more about it. This research often led him to find a need and invent something to fit that need. The spirit of Jacques Cousteau’s adventures and curiosity could fuel a great discussion in the classroom about daring to question, problem solving, and following dreams. It could also link to a science unit on oceans or marine life. Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau will likely inspire readers to want to learn more. As part of a classroom or home library, this book could be grouped with other non-fiction books about filmmaking, scuba diving, marine life, or oceans. It could also be grouped with fiction books about the ocean and ocean life.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 260 reviews

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