cover image Ocean Soup: Tide-Pool Poems

Ocean Soup: Tide-Pool Poems

Stephen R. Swinburne, , illus. by Mary Peterson. . Charlesbridge, $16.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-58089-200-1

Appearing as googly-eyed cartoons, sea creatures discuss life in the tide pools in these lighthearted rhymes. Hairy Doris, a sea slug, is proud of her unusual appearance (“I’m really rather lucky that/ I have no pesky shell./ Behold my lovely body—/ I’m a stunning tide-pool belle!”) and in a poem called “Regenerate,” a starfish is casual about losing an appendage: “A crab comes—SNIP!—there goes my arm./ Rude, yes, but I’m not alarmed.” Brief paragraphs provide factual tidbits, though the focus is definitely on fun. Ages 6–9. (Feb.)