Will a Clownfish Make You Giggle?: Answers to Some Very Fishy Questions

From fiddler crabs to pistol shrimp, the colorful monikers of a dozen marine creatures serve as bait in this uneven underwater primer. Gag line introductions (``Does a squirrel-fish eat nuts?'' ``Can a sea horse run a race?'') hook the reader's interest, then lead into brief natural history lessons. Whimsical caricatures (a queen angelfish wearing a crown, a parrotfish spreading feathered wings) share spreads with true-to-life depictions of the fish in their habitats. Unfortunately, Marcellan-Allen's watercolors of the actual animals lack sufficient definition to distinguish them from the parodies, and the text is similarly tentative in its balance of goofiness and elementary facts. See Matthew and Thomas Long's Any Bear Can Wear Glasses (reviewed Oct. 30) for a more successful use of the catchy-name device in profiling various creatures. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)