The Tide Pool Waits

Fleming’s examination of a liminal natural world starts before the title page: waves “cr-e-e-e-e-p” back from a shoreline, stranding creatures in pools of seawater until high tide returns. Using acrylic paint and pencil, Hevron drafts flat, graphic shapes in milky shades to show the sea creatures of the intertidal zone suspending animation in and around warming pools: “Beds of mussels close up tight, too./ So do turban snails./ And limpets./ And chitons./ They wait.” The mechanism of tidal action itself is explained only vaguely (“the pull of the moon,/ the turn of the earth”). Instead, in lyrical lines that play with sound, Fleming concentrates on the hush of low tide, and the action that erupts when the ocean returns (“CR-A-A-A-A-SH!”) and the creatures begin to feed and to swim. Onomatopoeic text and clear images together convey the phenomenon of the tide pool clearly to even landlocked readers. Back matter provides an illustrated guide to a Pacific Coast tide pool. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)