Fish Food

In a tall, skinny book with die-cut pages and a fun pop-up effect, “a little sea worm swims around, happy as can be.” It is quickly devoured by an orange fish, who pops up from the center of a spread with a “Chomp!” But this victory is short-lived, as other sea creatures, tucked into the periphery of the murky green-blue reef, sound warnings: “Watch out, little fish!” With a page turn, a larger, polka-dotted fish’s jaws close on the orange fish (and the worm, still inside its mouth); an enormous gray fish swallows the whole lot of them a few pages later. Despite the eat-and-be-eaten nature of Mansfield’s underwater world, Löhlein’s goofy, googly-eyed sea creatures keep the mood light. Whether an even bigger fish lurks in the sea is left to readers’ imaginations. Ages 2–5. (Apr.)