Ocean

These compelling books fill children's ears with the stimulating language of the sea: ``silver swirling schools'' and ``shimmering ribbons of kelp''; and the poetry of the forest: ``Sometime in the night / or early-morning light / a tiny tree begins to grow.'' Bash's lucid watercolors complement Hirschi's text by pulling the reader's eye from one discovery to another. Preschoolers will enjoy the ``Who Am I?'' device that keeps them thinking and turning pages to find animals they can observe in temperate woodlands and big city aquariums. In both books a three-page illustrated appendix gives older readers added data to absorb during repeated read-alouds. This information, combined with the simplicity and elegance of the texts and illustrations, works to extend the age range of the series. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)