RUB-A-DUB SUB

A little boy’s imaginary underwater submarine adventure in short, descriptive verse. Diving deeper and deeper, the boy encounters a bright, amazingly colorful ocean full of traditional and different sea life, all the while defining the unique features of each creature. “Diving with a silky seal / Darting by a dancing eel / Peering through a kelpy haze / at rainbow fish and manta rays.” Ashman includes new words and exotic fish: “Skimming over sneaky dabs / Hiding from the horseshoe crabs” and “Gliding through the wavy grass, / glimpse a busy cleaner wrasse.” When our explorer approaches danger by the confrontation of a shark, he reverses his sub and speedily returns through his previous subaqueous route, safely surfacing the waters of his toy-filled bathtub. Poetic text is lively with enough alliteration to encourage repeated recitation. Acrylic paintings in large, aquatic blues and greens accompany the multicolored animated sea creatures surrounding the youngster’s orange submarine. An amusing and equally enlightening companion to Ashman’s previous Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs (2001). (Picture book. 2-5)