SEA IN MY CELLS

Inside every one of us is a piece of the ocean.

Alary and Blinick offer a child-friendly look at the connection between people and the sea around us, pointing out the importance of water in our world. Exploring these big ideas in carefully crafted free verse, Alary begins by stating that our bodies, like every living thing, are made up of cells comprised of water, which contains the “parts that make your body work.” She then provides a simple explanation of the water cycle. Seawater evaporates, becoming vapor in the clouds. Rain falls from the sky; some of this water runs through pipes to our homes so we can drink it when we’re thirsty. Then, “All day long you / breathe it out / sweat it out / cry it out / pee it out!” That same water eventually returns to the sea. “All the water there is, / is all that ever was.” Blinick’s charming illustrations star an energetic red-haired, light-skinned, bespectacled protagonist, a dog, and four friends, nicely differentiated by clothing and by hair and skin color. Their activities are realistic at first—kicking a soccer ball, doing somersaults—though they grow increasingly fantastical as the children let their imaginations soar while learning about the science of water. Adding to the whimsy, on one spread, underground personified animals also go about a very humanlike daily life.

An appealing package that conveys an important message.