If You Went to the Bottom of the Ocean

K-Gr 4–McIntyre guides readers on an imaginative journey to the Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth, posed as the hypothetical lead-in of the title. The nonfiction text plunges readers through the ocean’s layers, starting with the Sunlight Zone (0–660 ft.), where whales and sea turtles glide, down to the Twilight Zone (660–3,300 ft.), where light fades and emperor penguins dive. The book continues through the pitch-dark Midnight and ­Abyssal Zones, explaining how creatures, such as the Dumbo Octopus and Greenland shark, survive crushing pressure and scarce food using adaptations like bioluminescence and specialized body structures. McIntyre clearly explains complex topics like marine snow (scraps of food descending from above), the intense pressure (like holding “ten humpbacks on your head”), and the reason more than 90 percent of the ocean remains unexplored. The writing is imaginative and uses vivid sensory details, describing the sea floor as vast as a desert and creatures creating “fireworks” in the darkness. The illustrations, rendered in gouache, ink, and acrylic, are highly successful in portraying the strange and wondrous life found in each zone. The back matter provides robust information on ocean exploration, including sonar, submersibles, and the deepest points in each ocean.