I am looking for a book I remember reading in the 1970’s. An early reader’s adventure about a boy who falls into the ocean and soon finds out that he can breathe under the water. He meets sea creatures and discovers a whole world below. Line drawings and a cloth bound cover with a crab embossed
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
This book may have been a part of a series or collection of stories, but I thought it was a stand alone hard cover book. Although I read it in the 70’s I would imagine that it was published earlier in the 60s or maybe the 50’s. The story was relatively simple, appropriate for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade level reader. But to that age the subject was so captivating. The main character was a young boy who somehow fell into the ocean and although he was scared at first he soon realized he could breathe under the water. He made friends with a crab (hermit crab I think) who in introduced him to his friends and their kingdom in the sea. In the end the boy woke up on the sea shore. Was it real or an elaborate dream? I’m not sure the main character was even sure himself.
The book had beautiful illustrations too. Mostly black and white line drawings and enough to keep a young reader engaged. I would love to rediscover this book and introduce it to my ocean loving children.
Thanks for any leads on this childhood favorite!
I would be surprised if this was not a children’s edition of “The Water Babies” by Charles Kingsley, which was made into an animated film around that time. The original “Water Babies” is from the nineteenth century and is quite long and moralistic, but there have been abridged editions which kept the underwater wonder.