50 Ways to Die in the Ocean

50 Ways to Die in the Ocean by Eileen O'Hely illustrated by Nico O'Sullivan (Hawkeye Publishing) RRP: $24.99 ISBN 9781923741041

Reviewed by Rebecca Fung

50 Ways to Die in the Ocean is an educational graphic novel for youngsters about, not surprisingly, ways to die in the ocean.

It's a short read. Two characters are introduced to us who look like balloon animals - a round one with glasses and a taller one with a hat. We don't learn their names or much about them. It's irrelevant for they are merely devices for us to learn about dying in the ocean - their banter generates information.

The book moves through different ways the ocean could present dangers. The characters try to present this as a natural narrative, talking about not liking sand then sharks and then moving onto discussing activities and their dangers such as snorkelling and so forth.

This has the advantage of presenting a nice flow to the conversation but for those readers who wanted to know that there were 50 ways to die in the ocean, the methods can become blurred. It's not clear whether a quick mention of a danger without exploration is meant to count. Is a list of a few creatures that can each contribute to the same kind of death meant to be one way to die, or several? This may seem pedantic but people who like lists (and this book's title would appeal to that kind of reader) often find this important.

One character tells us over and over, "AND THEN YOU WILL DIE!", giving the book a black humour and rhythm without this being depressing. I can imagine the younger children chanting eagerly, awaiting the words and looking forward to yelling them out.

The book focuses on interesting scientific and historical facts about the ocean and will surely appeal to kids who love storing up interesting pieces of information, such as exactly how carbon monoxide poisoning or water pressure works. The gruesome and taboo topic of death is introduced, in an engaging and non-depressing way. One issue that some might have with this is the idea that it doesn't take the topic of death seriously enough - it's a difficult area to navigate in an age-appropriate way. I think the book manages to convey a lot of facts and keeps kids amused.

There may also be the concern that some of the information is a little difficult for some of the younger kids to digest - there's a lot of science and rather than explain it using analogies, information is given in a rapid-fire manner using simple language. Some of the concepts are broken down well but others may fly over others' heads. The good part is that kids can move on easily to the next death method and won't get bogged down if that's the case.

There are some discussions of appropriate ways to mitigate danger but that's not the focus of the book. The pictures are simple and funny rather than horrifying. This is a clever concept - kids will love the idea that they're rebelling by reading about death and danger. Don't tell them they're learning science and they'll read oceans of it!