In One Tidepool

November 1, 2002
PreS-Gr 2-In this eye-catching title, a little girl peers into a tidepool and observes the animals living there. The text begins with a wisecracking, unrhymed letter to the "Two-Armed Explorer" from a sea star. From there it moves to a rhymed description of a coastline; a spread with the single line, "This is the tidepool"; and then a rhymed tribute to the "curly-haired girl with wondering eyes" who "truly cared" for the creatures. Finally, the bulk of the book is a "House-That-Jack-Built"-style cumulative rhyme introducing barnacles, fish, anemones, a sponge, snails, crabs, limpets, and a sea star. Fitting the creatures' behavior into verse occasionally strains the rhythm and choice of verb tense, but the imagery is apt and engaging. A page of field notes gives brief information about each of the animals, and several bibliographies list other books about the shore, by the author, and by the publisher. Full-bleed, double-page illustrations are bright and detailed, bordering on the surreal in color and pattern. In all, the book is a heartfelt effort, but it is not truly successful as a coherent whole.-Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.