#221 of 1001 · March 9, 2021

I’m chuckling at the conceit behind Sea Creatures from the Sky by @rmcortes, a parody of alien abduction accounts from the perspective of an anthropomorphic denizen of the deep. In charmingly earnest rhyming couplets, a shark describes being captured by unrecognizable beings, taken aboard a mysterious vessel, probed and measured with bizarre instruments, and suddenly released. Our recognition of the visitors and our comprehension of their prosaic motives may help us conceptualize the prospect of benign, space-faring scientists, advanced far beyond our ken, idly conducting innocuous experiments on us. Cortés underscores this comparison by juxtaposing views of the deep ocean, the far reaches of outer space, and the horizon where the separate worlds of sky and water meet, all with a bright color palette, varied textures, and a series of dynamic perspectives. #sea #creature #creatures #sky #shark #fish #ocean #space #alien #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks