Who Was Jacques Cousteau?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Nico Medina, Who H.Q., Dede Putra (Illustrator)

Jacques Cousteau is the most famous and beloved name in the world of deep-sea exploration. Cousteau discovered his passion in 1938, when he first used a pair of goggles to dive off the coast of France. During his time as a French naval officer, he carried out many deep-sea experiments and improved upon early diving equipment. Soon, Cousteau began filming his underwater excursions and offering the world a glimpse below the surface. The documentary television series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau made the man, his work, and his red cap famous throughout the world.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Middle Grade, Science

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2015

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I loved to watch many times the documentaries made by Jacques Cousteau and his crew. But now reading this book, I discovered that Jacques Cousteau was much more intelligent and ahead of our time than I imagined! I didn't know he had invented the first Aqua-Lung and an underwater camera; and that he had won the Oscar award and the grand prize at the Cannes Festival for filming his own documentaries with a co-director. And he was one of the first worldwide environmentalists too. For me who is learning English by myself, this book was very easy, interesting and enjoyable to read.

[Rita Araújo · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.” - Jacques Yves Cousteau

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction for young readers to life and time of Jacques Cousteau.
Adult takeaway: Cousteau didn't just invent the Aqua-lung, he introduced humans to the world beneath the sea.

[itchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

eponymous-ey sentence:
p6: In 1920, ten-year-old Jacques Cousteau and his family were living in New York City.

I've never heard of Jacques before (although I think I should have), admittedly. This account is very engaging and interesting, to say the least. Maybe I should read up on him more.

[Yewon kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I though he is swimmer.but he was a sea army.so he love taking picture.I really love it.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, so much I didn't really know about Cousteau for sure. I think the most amazing thing was that literally his most famous work didn't really get underway until much later in his life. He had a career with the military/Navy in France interrupted regularly by war in the early 1900s in which he worked to create the first version of the aqua-lung which became SCUBA and he added his interest in photography which led to underwater photography, then filming, then diving and so much more. Which then led to conservation and documentaries that he won awards for.

Plus, he had his family living on the Calypso and his wife specifically enjoyed what he did and helped when she could supporting his interests and passion. It was a life lived in full that provides curiosity breeds innovation. He patented things and wanted to figure out how things worked but then also wanted to bring the world into the ocean doing three tests of underwater living. (And how the champagne celebrating their anniversary in one of the "homes" was flat because of the pressure).

This series is always engaging and features people we really need to know more about and emulate. We need to showcase these people to kids to give them BIG IDEAS on just who they can become themselves.

[christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As said by my eight-year-old student, "So... he was, like, disabled for a while and then he joined the army and created a new sport? Awesome!"

Needless to say, Cousteau has been a favourite for the kids out of all the Who Was...? to date. While at first, the kids complained this Who Was was demonstrably longer, many ended up reading the book in its entirety by day two. By day three, I tired of telling them to stop spoiling the events of his life and treated it as a discussion of how Cousteau's passion and indefatigable nature drove him to achieve all that he did.

Also: teaching French pronunciation = difficult

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter picked up some of the books from the "Who is/was" series and I thought I'd read about Jacques Cousteau. My dad always joked around when I was younger about "finding the elusive puffer fish" in his version of a French accent. That was what I knew about Mr. Cousteau; he was a scientist who studied life in the ocean. What an incredible backstory he had full of overcoming obstacles, persevering, following his heart and exploring the world underwater. I had no idea he helped develop the Aqua-Lung and it was neat to go online and see his movie "Shipwreck". I am thankful to know more about this many-times-over pioneer of oceanography, scuba diving, environmentalism and exploration.

[Rangga Sukmawijaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walaupun sedikit kecewa karena gambar-gambar di dalamnya tidak seperti yang diduga (dengan cover sebagus itu saya mengharapkan gambar-gambar di bagian dalam buku juga berwarna), tapi buku biografi Jacques Cousteau untuk anak-anak ini lumayan bagus. Alasan pertama, walaupun tidak berwarna, tapi gambar ilustrasi di buku ini sangat baik dan rapi (angkat topi buat sang ilustrator). Alasan kedua, bahasa Inggris yang digunakan bukan bukan jenis bahasa yang sulit, jadi saya rekomendasikan bagi orang tua yang anak-anaknya ingin belajar bahasa Inggris. Alasan ketiga, selain cerita tentang kehidupan Cousteau, di buku ini juga ada beberapa box fakta sains sederhana yang bisa menambah pengetahuan.

[Osvaldo Cruz Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book about the many adventures and discoveries of Jacques Cousteau. His desire to spend countless breaths under water became the driving force behind the invention of the Scuba Diving equipment. But, it doesnt end there. His curiosity leads to many amazing underwater pictures and films that have opened the world to the beauty that lies beneath.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world gained a lot from the life of Jacques Cousteau. He taught us about the oceans and what lies under them, he helped invent scuba equipment for deep sea diving and made us aware of the many species that live in the sea.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading these to my kids, but honestly I am enjoying them so much myself. A great entry point books for history and other academic works. My son wants to watch all the documentaries the book mentions Cousteau made!

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know who Jacques Cousteau was before this book. A nice book with interesting facts and pictures that is perfect for upper elementary and middle school students.

[Lionheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated 5 stars
Ages 12+

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good biography! Lots I didn't know about Cousteau.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cool profession!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

That must have been so fascinating to explore the unseen underwater of the oceans!

[Fabien · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, Jacques Cousteau make me dream every week, it s jus a real pleasure to read this little book to my kids.

[Karthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable ocean adventure 💙

[Esther May · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has made me want to learn more about the ocean and how scuba equipment was invented. It sounds so interesting. Oh and now I want to life on a boat.

[Jordyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good. At my school we are learn about him.

[Taylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a great book i loved it it was so interesting i just had to keep reading it.

[Rachael Drenckpohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book about an amazing man! I loved it!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating man to read about. I will have to find some of his videos about this work.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liam is doing his 3rd grade wax museum report on Jacques Cousteau. Read this little book aloud to him. I thought it was well done

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb biography on Jacques Cousteau. It was short but informative. I learned a lot, even as an adult reader!

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing read! Jacques lived such a full life and he accomplished many many things, a lot of them are firsts. The authors and editors did a great job of condensing everything down to around 100 pages.

[Colin Richey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacques Cousteau was an incredible inventor and was a one of a kind diver.

[Jasmine Ariti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm impressed that Jacques Cousteau basically invented SCUBA? What an innovator.

I don't recommend watching his movies now, though... at least not "The Silent World," from 1956, as it has several graphic scenes of brutality towards animals and the natural world, which are pretty shocking to 2025 sensibilities.

Also upsetting to 2025 sensibilities and 2025 understanding of just how superior men are to women (how about - they're not?) Cousteau demonstrated breathtaking entitlement by maintaining a secret second family, complete with two children, for over a decade; his mistress was about half his age and actually younger than his sons from his "original" marriage.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What attracted me to read this book was Jacques Cousteau reminded me tremendously of the Wes Anderson film, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." While reading the book, the movie was inspired by this incredible man of the sea. If it wasn't for Cousteau, our oceans may still be a mystery. It was incredible to read how brave of a man he was risking his life to great depths for ocean discovery. Fascinating man!