SEA MONKEY & BOB

Sea Monkey (a dapper, bow-tied brine shrimp) and Bob (a green-speckled puffer fish) both face a worrisome underwater plight—density.

Surrounded by blue water and colorful corals, Sea Monkey is very concerned. What if his tiny but heavier-than-it-looks frame sinks to the bottom of the ocean? It is dark and scary down there. Bob thinks the idea is absurd, but Sea Monkey’s logical list of heavy items such as anchors, tubas, rocks—even dinosaurs—changes his mind. (“You have never seen a dinosaur,” admonishes Bob. “That is true. But I’m pretty sure they sink,” Sea Monkey fires back.) But now Bob is worried. What if his very light frame floats to the top? There is air up there! He begins to list items that float, and terror seizes both oceanic creatures. But just as their worst fears begin to come true (“It is happening! I think I am floating, Sea Monkey!”), a clever solution stops them in their tracks. Sea Monkey and Bob’s wry, deadpan riffs match Ohi’s humorous digital asides. The text is told entirely in color-coded dialogue, Sea Monkey’s lines printed in pink-outlined white letters and Bob’s in green-outlined yellow. The ending feels slapdash given the relaxed pacing of the pair’s banter to that point, but readers’ funny bones won’t mind.

A barrel of giggles, exaltation of friendship, and slight science to boot.