Sejal Sinha Swims with Sea Dragons

by Maya Prasad, Abira Das (Illustrator)

Overview

This second book in the chapter book series about a young Indian American girl who loves science and has a big imagination introduces readers to an incredible sea creature—perfect for fans of The Magic School Bus and Over the Moon!

Sejal and her brother, Abu, are excited to visit their aunt, who is a marine biologist. During a fun trip to the beach, Abu discovers a small, blue creature washed up on shore. It’s a blue dragon! Despite its name, it doesn’t breathe fire—but it is fearless, preying on much bigger animals.

Sejal is ready to see the blue dragon in action. With a submarine powered by Imagination Fuel, she plunges into an underseas adventure. She hopes she can learn more about how the small but mighty blue dragon might help her as she deals with her own battle with a class bully.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665911801
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Series:	Sejal Sinha , #2
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	630,639
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Maya Prasad is a South Asian American author, a Caltech graduate, and a former software engineer. She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest, where she enjoys hiking, canoeing, and raising her budding bookworm kiddo. She’s the author of young adult novel Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things and the Sejal Sinha chapter book series. Maya has also had short fiction published in Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA, Cast of Wonders, and Voyage YA. She is passionate about creating brown girl leads in children’s literature.

Abira Das is a freelance artist with experience in book illustration, graphic design, and video game art. She is the illustrator of the Sejal Sinha chapter book series.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE Glitter Bomb

 

  The best part about school projects is definitely the glitter.

  I was working on a poster for my ocean creatures presentation on the dining room table, and I added another dash of red glitter, just to make the tummy of my immortal jellyfish look extra bright.

  “Can I help?” asked my five-year-old little brother, Abu.

  “No way,” I said. “This needs to be perfect.”

  Abu made a pouty face, and then snatched the glitter bottle.

  “Stay away!” I said.

  He got an evil-little-brother look. The next thing I knew, a glitter bomb exploded all over us!

  Our cookies-and-cream-colored Havanese puppy, Fluff Monster, yapped and ran in circles in the cloud of red sparkles. It got all over her fur. All over my hair. All over Abu the most. He looked like he was made of sparkly fire.

  Mom came in to see what Fluff Monster was barking about. She took one look at Abu, and just shook her head. I waited for her to get super mad but instead she laughed. “New look you’re trying out?”

  Abu grinned and twirled. “Yeah, do I look good?”

  “Very good,” Mom said. But she also fixed him with a stern look and held out her hand.

  He stopped twirling and gave her the glitter shaker.

  “Thank you,” Mom said.

  I rolled my eyes because it seemed like Abu never got into trouble for anything. But Mom would probably yell at me for making a mess on the table.

  She came over to look at my poster. “Wow, Sejal! Your project is coming out so nicely. I wish I could live forever like the immortal jellyfish!”

  Phew. She was smiling at least. Maybe her latest experiments at her science lab had been going well or something.

  “Sorry about the mess on the dining table,” I said, “but Fluff Monster kept stealing my markers when I tried to work on it in the basement.”

  I loved Fluff, but she could definitely be naughty sometimes. And she really liked stealing anything that was stick-shaped, like pencils or markers. The dining table was too high for her to reach, though.

  Mom rubbed my shoulders. “It’s okay. Not like we’re expecting anyone today.”

  “Nope, just a normal evening!” Dad said cheerfully from the kitchen. “We can eat dinner on the kitchen island.”

  I noticed he was wearing his favorite frilly apron and was stirring a big pot with lots of steam coming out. Something smelled good, but I’d been so busy working on my project that I hadn’t paid attention until right now.

  Just then, Fluff Monster started barking at the front door.

 

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2023

Gr 2–5—Indian American Sejal Sinha and her younger brother Abu return for the next series installment, after Sejal Sinha Battles Superpowers. Sejal's scientific family are helpful with her ocean creatures school project, but a research-based trip to the beach with her marine biologist aunt brings unexpected adventure and imagination to the surface. Sejal, Abu, and their dog, Fluff Monster, find a mysterious blue dragon, which Aunt Neela informs them isn't venomous but can become so after eating poisonous prey. They take it upon themselves to return "Blue Boss" to the ocean and create a submarine powered by Imagination Fuel. When Sejal's stuffy Professor Cheetah accidentally uses the Micromaker, they are all reduced to a mere six inches tall, along with Sejal's school bully, Jonah. As the submarine travels through the ocean, they encounter many other marine animals, learning all about their special adaptations and features. The illustrations by Das give readers the chance to see what these unique sea creatures look like. Prasad blends an adventurous story filled with friendship issues and fascinating true facts. A detailed author's note chronicling the sea creatures and their adaptations follows the story, along with mention of the third book in the series. VERDICT Budding scientists looking for a chapter book series that has both developed and interesting characters, and great STEM components, will enjoy Sejal and her adventures.—Michele Shaw

School Library Journal