

Swimming in the ocean can be scary, until Kayla uses her imagination to overcome her fears in this lyrical story for readers trying something new. When Kayla’s favorite dolphin floatie loses its air at the beach, she wants to just sit on the sand. Daddy calls for her to play with him and her brother in the surf, but the DEEP BLUE SEA gulps sand out from underfoot, and a wave knocks her down, sending water up her nose. “I want to go home,” Kayla says. “I can’t swim without my dolphin.” But Daddy reminds her that she knows how to swim and even how to hold her breath underwater. He hoists her up on his shoulders and wades into the sea. “You be the island,” Kayla says. “I’ll be the lighthouse.” In a charming sequel to Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike, author Dashka Slater and illustrator Laura Hughes take on another milestone moment, showing that with patience, a parent’s easygoing support, and a creative mindset, a child can gain the confidence to tackle a daunting new experience–and grow from clinging to a dolphin floatie to swimming through the ocean just like a dolphin!
Dashka Slater’s four picture books have won widespread praise for their inventive language and vivid imagery. Baby Shoes was named one of the best children’s books of 2006 by both Booklist and Nick Jr. magazines and was chosen for the Texas 2x2 list of best books for children age two to grade two. The Sea Serpent and Me was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a finalist for the Cybil and Chickadee Awards, as well as being named to the 2008 Librarians’ Choices List of the best books for children and young adults. Dangerously Ever After was named the 2013–14 Surrey Picture Book of the Year based on the votes of over 12,700 elementary school students. A recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Slater is also an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in such publications as Newsweek, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, and Mother Jones. She is also the author of a novel for adults, The Wishing Box, which the Los Angeles Times named to its list of the year’s best fiction in 2000.
Laura Hughes is the illustrator of Rabbit on the Run and studied illustration at Kingston University in London. She lives in East London, England.
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