Dive into Your Imagination

Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA -- School Library Journal, 8/5/2008

Dive into Your Imagination (Series). 3 DVDs. range: 37-44 min. Dive into Your Imagination. 2007. $19.95 ea. Includes: Dive into Diversity; Who Lives in the Sea?; What Makes a Fish a Fish?

PreS-Gr 4–Annie Crawley is an underwater photographer who loves the sea, and that feeling is reflected in this series. Beautiful, compelling live-action underwater video is accompanied by Crawley’s clear, evocative, occasionally rhyming narration. Each film begins with “The Ocean Song” and then introduces viewers to a variety of ocean creatures. Dive into Diversity presents crustaceans, nighttime under the sea, submarine and scuba diving, and clear explanations about vertebrates and invertebrates. There’s also an interesting section on kelp. What Makes a Fish a Fish? defines fish and then features a wide variety of fish and fish-related topics including pipefish, sharks and rays, fish as predator and prey, and more. Who Lives in the Sea introduces dolphins, sea lions, sea birds such the blue-footed booby, turtles, octopi, nudibranchs, and whale sharks. It ends with an ocean alphabet. Each program has evocative, original background music. There is an English or Spanish narration option, or the DVD can be viewed without narration. At the end of each program, Crawley and the composer of the background music are introduced and they explain how they create their final product. Video of creatures beneath the sea is interspersed with occasional footage of children playing in a pool or in the bathtub. While the video shows a wide diversity of creatures, that same level of diversity is not shown in the human cast, but they’re not the focus here. The creatures of the sea are the stars, and they shine. Viewers are urged to protect the sea and its creatures. This series is a visual delight, with fascinating close-up photography that will keep viewers enthralled. Although labeled “For Home Use Only,” Crawley includes schools and libraries in that designation.