The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage Kate Quealy-Gainer Savage, Chloe The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish; written and illus. by Chloe Savage. Candlewick, 2023 [32p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781536228519 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-7 yrs After years of research and months of planning, marine scientist Dr. Morley and her crew are ready to set off to the far north in search of the giant Arctic jellyfish, a creature that has been rumored about but never seen. During the expedition, the group encounters majestic narwhals, curious belugas, and playful orcas, but no jellyfish. Their deep-sea dives don't turn anything up either, and even when a "feast of delicious squidgy algae," a jellyfish's favorite meal, blooms, there is no sign of the creature. Months go by, and the crew keeps at it, but eventually even Dr. Morley admits defeat, and sets course for home; as she looks back one more time, though, she sees a shape surfacing: "Wait. Could that be . . . ?" Viewers at this point will know that yes, it is indeed Morley's metaphorical white whale, and that the creature has actually spent most of the book curiously inspecting the boat and watching its happenings unseen. Savage's ink and watercolor art is expertly composed to balance the dreamy wildness of the ocean with the clean orderliness of the ship; the lower half of the pages are awash with dappled blues and icy whites, while the red ship above the sea is defined by solid angles and sturdy geometry, with several cutout scenes displaying the busyness of the crew above and below deck. Unfortunately, the text's tone has a formality that tends toward nonfiction, potentially setting up readerly expectations about either the fact or fiction behind the creature where there is none. Still, viewers will enjoy finding the jellyfish in its various hiding spaces, and full spreads of the Arctic nighttime sky and its underwater counterpart highlight the vastness of a planet that is full of unknowable surprises. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois