The Bathysphere Boys: The Depth-Defying Diving of Messrs. Beebe and Barton

by Ted Enik, G.F. Newland (Illustrations)

The true story of the invention, disasters, and adventures of the first bathysphere--a small, cramped, bare-bones spherical deep-sea submersible that set the world record for deepest dive in 1934. Explorer William Beebe and engineering grad student Otis Barton teamed up despite mismatched personalities and disagreements and changed deep-sea exploration forever. Told through engaging rhyme, this playfully illustrated addition to the Unhinged History series follows their journey from frustrated inventors to international celebrities. The tiny bathysphere was miserable to be in, with terrible lighting, little room to move, stale air, and minuscule portholes--but still the scientist-adventurers went far under the waves to experience the mysterious waters as no one ever had. After near calamities and false starts, Beebe and Barton saw, for the very first time, deep-sea creatures in their home environment, broke world records, and made history.

48 pages, Hardcover

Published September 28, 2019

About the author

Veteran author / illustrator, Ted Enik, has worked for most of the top-tier publishers in New York City; applying his versatility to both original art as well as classic and current children’s book characters. Once part of the favored stable of "Magic School Bus" artists, tapped to fill Hilary Knight’s venerable shoes for the Eloise hardcover, "Eloise in Hollywood," and most recently the primary illustrator for the beloved Fancy Nancy “I Can Read™” series.

Ted has always been a writer—plays and film—and lately Illustrated Books (including Graphic Novels, that increasingly catchall category) with quirky plots and original voices. He’s is known for possessing a polished “voice,” a honed “ear,” and a ruthless, self-inflicting, red editor’s pen.

Reviews

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Who would've thought that learning history could be this much fun? As someone who always struggles with memorizing past events, this book sure did an amazing job of teaching me about the evolution of human diving. The plot says a lot about what this book is all about but when you actually read this story you get so many details and cool facts, rhymes and fun illustrations that learning about the characters lives and their explorations simply becomes a joyfull read. The book makes you feel like you're part of the characters journey and that's hard to do for most books, at least it is with me as a reader. So what I'm trying to say is, this book is awesome and should definitely be given a chance. Who knows, maybe you learn something new and have a great time reading about the adventures of the 19-th century explorers or as I'm sure Gloria Hollister would say "detectives' seeking nature's secrets".

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An often overlooked diving and engineering success not only emerges in these pages, but it does so with a whirl of quirky rhyming fun.

Will Beebe had an idea and was soon joined by Otis Barton to build a diving sphere, which should go deeper than any possibility of that time. The Bathysphere was created. But things didn't always run smoothly, but they didn't give up.

Set in rhymes, this book takes a slightly humorous (and yet, serious) twist into Will Beebe and Otis Barton's invention of the Bathysphere. It's definitely quite a quirky ride and can't be read with paying attention. The word play is speedy and hits with a sense of ridiculousness while still sitting on fact and telling the tale of how the two men achieved their goals. It's never boring and raises more than a few eyebrows along the way. In other words, its a refreshing and fun way to bring across a piece of history.

While the poem itself is fast-paced and splashes excitement between the facts, there are several pages of (still entertaining) but more informational diagrams and displays on the last pages. There's also the mention of Gloria Hollister, who collaborated with Beebe and made her own marks in the diving world.

I received a complimentary copy and really enjoyed this mixture of fun and facts. So, I'm leaving my honest thoughts.

[April Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting book! Learning about William Beebe, Otis Barton, and the first bathysphere was made fun in this rhyming tale, covering the trials and successes of the history-making submersible. At the end of the story, there are illustrations showing deep sea creatures that the explorers encountered, an illustration showing the specs of the bathysphere, a map showing where they were doing the diving, an illustrated history of diving suits and apparatuses, and a biography of Gloria Hollister, the scientist who accompanied them and assisted in the dives, certainly a remarkable thing for the times. Learning about her was very interesting, she was quite an inspirational person! I especially appreciated the author's note on the types of poetry used in the text- that was something I was not expecting to learn about, but it was a nice surprise. The illustration are colorful and fun, full of detail. A great STEM book to add to any grade school library or personal collection.

#TheBathysphereBoys #NetGalley

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The development of the diving bell in rhyme! This was novel. I think the book will find it's place among books on inventors and their inventions on shelves in classrooms and libraries- or it should. I think kids will enjoy this story of how this deep sea diving devise was developed. Adults might find it good read, as well. Illustrations were entertaining with lots of fun details; I think it will look great in color.

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great way of learning about Bathyspheres! I love the way facts are delivered in rhyme and with a touch of humour. I particularly enjoyed reading about Gloria Hollister. What a great female role model from such a male-dominated era!

This book is something that I can appreciate as an adult and that I think kids will love. The illustrations will look fabulous in a hard copy.

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I liked this book, but I wish it had been organized differently and I’m not sure why the author felt it necessary to rhyme… because it didn’t always rhyme and I think it took away from the story. But I spent a long time reading this book and studying all the information. Would recommend for the information, but warn about the rhyme.

[Dru Munsell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute delight this book is! The writing is clever and well executed, and the illustrations are darling. This story is a joyous romp through the deep, and a pleasure to read for explorers of all ages. Highly highly recommended.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun to read! I procrastinated reading it aloud to my kids because it was so wordy, but once I started it was a joy to read AND it kept their attention! Very well done!