Curious Critters: Marine

In his third Curious Critters book, FitzSimmons pairs breathtakingly detailed photographs of 20 aquatic creatures with offbeat accounts of the animals’ lives, which take the form of poems, songs, and first-person monologues. A translucent hooded nudibranch looks more mushroom than mollusk as the sea slug raves about its fashion sense (“From my sheer dress to my eye-catching hat, I’m nothing but flair and finesse”); a starfish describes itself to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (“Tough and bendy is my skin./ That’s my exoskeleton”). From a wisecracking sea cucumber to a frogfish trying to hide its predatory nature, FitzSimmons offers a cheeky guide to the sea’s odder denizens. Ages 3–up. (Apr.)