Else B. in the Sea

<B><I>Else B. in the Sea</I></B><B> is a poetic picture book biography honoring a daring and pioneering woman artist that combines themes of art and science.</B><BR/><BR/> Else Bostelmann donned a red swimsuit and a copper diving helmet and, with paints and brushes in hand, descended into the choppy turquoise sea off the coast of Bermuda.<BR/><BR/> It was 1930, and few had ventured deep into the sea before. She discovered a fairyland six fathoms below the surface—fantastic coral castles, glittering sunbeams, swaying sea plumes, and slender purple sea fans. And fish! Flashy silverfish, puckering blue parrotfish, iridescent jellyfish.<BR/><BR/> Else painted under the sea! She painted what she saw with her own eyes, and, back on land, she painted the never-before-seen deep-sea creatures described by world-renowned scientist William Beebe on his momentous 1930s bathysphere expeditions for the New York Zoological Society’s Department of Tropical Research.<BR/><BR/> It was a daring and glamorous adventure and a dream come true for Else B., who shared this new, unfathomable world with humankind.<BR/><BR/> "A hugely appealing story," said <I>Booklist</I> in a starred review of this lovely picture book biography from author Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrator Melodie Stacey. "Readers will feel as if they have taken the plunge, too."