Sheilah Egan (Children's Literature)
Not just anyone could manage to encompass the depths (ooh, pardon the pun) of ocean life with such stunning illustrations and clever, witty verse; but Kurt Cyrus has done it with flair and finesse. The illustrations swirl, ebb and flow, plunge and swoop across the pages in fabulous detail while echoing the text in perfect harmony. Some of the text swoops and swirls or darts and dashes across the illustrations but not so much so as to be distracting--just enough to enhance the meaning with great visual input “…Now zag! Now dart! Now swerve! A blur of sardines hurtles into the curve…” The verse follows one tiny sardine who has become separated from the gigantic school of sardines that explore a great reef. Along the way to being reunited with the school, the lone swimmer encounters a variety of other ocean dwellers including, an overconfident blowfish, a trickster stone fish (camouflaged to his eyeballs declaring, “I’m a stone. A simple stone. Overgrown with crust and weed. You can see I’m just a stone. Not a stonefish. No, indeed!”), an anjulated wentletrap (look out anemones!), a dedicated mother octopus, a “sea stalking snake,” some terrifying lights, a splendidly mobile scallop, and scads more seagoing creatures. Throughout all of the humorous verse, facts are tucked in that are perfectly in place but educational as well. There is also the presence of truly human emotions: “…lost and lean, a lone sardine haunts the doorways of the sea. ‘Please, has anybody seen a million other fish like me?’” Anyone who has ever been separated from family or friends in a huge mall will identify with this pitiful plaint. The last page has identified and named specific creatures, showing them as insets as they appear on the larger illustrations throughout this splendid book. 2005, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages all.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Cyrus’s verses sit neatly on one page, then dance around or across double pages. They take us adventuring under the sea, as a single sardine, lost from the school, wanders in the ocean and through a coral reef. He encounters many creatures there, from crawfish and stonefish, anemones and octopus, to shrimp and blowfish, past others until finally he finds the rest of the sardines again. The poems are rich with both vivid imagery and a bit of fun. Although the double-page paintings are anatomically correct, the fish, plants, and shells are carefully designed in scenes of interrelated complexity, of theatrical potency. The light comes from all quarters so that even the lurking stonefish and an open-mouthed angler fish are there for our inspection. Seaweeds are pushed by ocean currents to shape multi-hued arabesques which carry your eyes on voyages of discovery. All 28 creatures shown in the illustrations are identified in small pictures at the end. 2005, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 5 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 7))
The author/illustrator of Oddhopper Opera (2001) dives to a marine setting for 21 equally witty encounters between various undersea denizens and a small, strayed, rightly anxious sardine. The poems range from direct conversations-"How do you do? / Who do you eat? / Have you been chased? / Glad we could meet. / How do you taste? / How do you do? / Won't it be wonderful, / swallowing you?"-to general observations ("All the spiny lobsters trust / The guy behind, because they must"), and often twist through or around elaborate underwater scenes featuring exactly rendered creatures (identified in a visual key at the end) placed against arabesque traceries of rock and coral. Though untitled, so that it's sometimes hard to tell where one leaves off and the next begins, the poems are linked by a plot line that climaxes with both a curtain call for the entire cast, and that sardine's happy reunion with a teeming silver swirl of compatriots. A fine, finny outing, equally suitable for a quick dip or full immersion. 2005, Harcourt, 40p, $16.00. Category: Picture book/poetry. Ages 6 to 10. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sharon R. Strock (Library Media Connection, November/December 2005)
This title chronicles an amazing adventure in the deep, dark ocean as seen through the eyes of a lonely and lost sardine. This sardine encounters a watery hotel unlike any readers have ever seen or imagined. This fanciful tale is filled with wonderful information about the world deep below sea level, filled with characters that will intrigue, mystify, and engage the reader. The sardine encounters a seemingly harmless stone-a stonefish that tempts it to come closer. Later, the angulated wentletrap, "in alabaster white," takes a bite of an anemone. This is not a problem as "anemones regenerate, so everything's all right." An octopus, in a "small, secluded den" never leaves her young and later dies "among the scuttled eggs." The language and imagery of this book are wondrous. Amazing facts about these dark water animals will keep one rereading until every fact, perhaps every word, is memorized. The illustrations are vividly colorful and include amazing details. Kurt Cyrus' talent with words and paint are abundantly evident in this creative poetic tale. This book is a delight from the moment the sardine becomes lost to the last page where he finds "Sardines! Sardines! Sardines.." Cyrus includes a reference page with labeled pictures of each sea creature featured in the book. This book will be a prized addition to any poetry collection. Highly Recommended. 2005, Harcourt, 40pp., $16 hc. Ages 3 to 11.

Paula Day (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 18, No. 1))
In 21 witty poems, Kurt Cyrus follows a lone sardine in search of its lost school within the dark halls of a great coral reef. No matter how long you stay, this is one hotel you won’t want to leave! This is a beautifully illustrated book with bright colored paintings with much detail of the ocean and its wonderful animals. Children will love the movement captured within the illustrations and the poetry. Nonfiction (811). Grades 1-3. 2005, Harcourt, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 6 to 9.