Under the Sea | The Gazette

Even though the ocean is more than 1,000 miles from Iowa, it was the inspiration for Cedar Rapids author Charlotte Gunnufson’s latest picture book, “Dream Submarine.”

“I love the sea,” Gunnufson, 57, said in a recent interview. “There’s something magical about it.”

In her third picture book, now published by Candlewick Press, Gunnufson takes her young readers on a gentle underwater adventure where they’ll meet various sea creatures as they go to bed, lie in sponge beds, have their parents wash their faces, and more.

Gunnufson hopes that the book will be written in the second person and will feature a young girl in a cozy submarine. She hopes that children will be able to immerse themselves in the book using their imagination.

“I hope kids see (the main character) and think, ‘Oh, I’m her.’ Or … I’m in there with her, or I’m here in my own submarine and we’re just cruising along side by side.”

“I hope children have this experience. I like that feeling too – the feeling that you are going on an adventure or a journey,” she said.

Gunnufson has lived in Cedar Rapids for more than 25 years. As a mother and former educator, she has “been reading picture books forever” and knows the importance of matching an effective storyline with the language level of beginning readers.

“It’s like thinking like a child,” she explained. “As a teacher, as a mother, as a teacher … you just get that sense of, ‘they’ll get it, they won’t get it,’ and you try to meet them where they’re at.”

The feedback from her readers has also been a great experience. In addition to participating in the America Reads program, Gunnufson regularly visits schools, bookstores and libraries to read her books to children.

The experience is good for the children and “it is also a great advantage for me because I can see how they react.”

“It’s very informative. You can see where… it’s almost like they get lost in the book. They walk into it and they’re just suspended,” Gunnufson said.

Bonus material

At the back of the book, Gunnufson has also added eight pages of entertaining additional information about various sea creatures.

“Some children are really interested in the facts. When I visit schools, children come up to me and tell me everything they know about sharks or other sea creatures. It’s just great. They are so excited about it,” she said.

To encourage that sense of wonder and discovery, Gunnufson persuaded her publisher to expand the book’s length a little. Most picture books are 32 pages long, she explained. With the additional facts at the end, her book is 40 pages.

“I just love being around kids and I love their innate curiosity about things. They don’t hide their excitement and enthusiasm. When they’re really interested in something, you can tell! Some kids are just so interested in facts about fish and when they know more, they want to learn even more. That’s why I wanted to give them that opportunity,” Gunnufson said.

Gunnufson learned many of these facts through her extensive research, which became “very detailed and very specific.” That’s because Gunnufson wanted both the bonus material and the picture book itself to be fact-based.

Example: The dream submarine takes a certain route and is at certain depths of the ocean at certain times of the day.

“Usually the illustrator just lets things go,” Gunnufson said. But Gunnufson shared details and suggestions with the illustrator to ensure all the illustrations matched the location, depth and time of day the imaginary submarine was passing.

“There are so many different species of pufferfish. But when we’re in this area… well, not every species of pufferfish is there, so you can’t just pick a pufferfish (to draw),” she said.

“The care of the illustrator, the experts, the editor and the entire team probably exceeds my expectations,” she added.

The result is a calming and educational book that is sure to delight children and adults alike.

“It’s a very safe and comfortable way to have an adventure,” Gunnufson said.

“Dream Submarine” is available at all local bookstores and local libraries.