The Deepest Blue

A Black child dives deep into an ocean and its history in a contemplative picture book from Grant (Bright Lights and Summer Nights) and Caldecott Honoree Minter that considers themes of inheritance and loss. Across vertically oriented spreads, neatly rhyming lines follow the youth and other divers from the water’s surface into “the biggest, brightest, bluest blue.” As the figures descend, the deep water goes “black as night”—except for a light emanating from a sunken ship that’s superimposed with images of chains and shackles. Questions follow (“What happened here? Where did they go?”), as do musings on the kind of loss caused by “the traders and the tides.” Indigo-rich illustrations combine striated oceanic backgrounds and crisp white etching-like patterns. Spreads take on sky blues and myriad purples as the child is seemingly buoyed upward by figures that suggest ancestral spirits, encounters “the rhythmic rap of dancing drums;/ Asante, Bono, Fanti tongues,” then gathers with others “on a sandy shore/ to honor those who came before.” This abstract, visually immersive work invites discussion about ideas of cultural connection and communal memory. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rick Margolis, Rising Bear Literary. (June)