Splish Splash

Vibrant cartoony illustrations, upbeat rhymes, and pop-ups with a nifty sense of movement propel this addition to the Little Snappers series. Set underwater, the book offers a question-based introduction to five aquatic animals, with the answer to each question and an accompanying pop-up revealed by lifting flaps. “Whose wriggly, wiggly curly arms are tickling all the fish?” one begins. “It’s sleek and playful octopus, whose arms go swish, swish, swish.” The octopus’s chunky purple arms uncurl as the flap lifts, while elsewhere a crab’s claws close on a shell, and a shark’s toothy smile makes the other fish scatter. The book’s aims are modest, but playful paper engineering and the nursery rhyme–like cadence of Litton’s verse help it stand out. Ages 2–5. (Mar.)