THE POUT-POUT FISH UNDERSEA ALPHABET

From angelfish to zebrafish, the creators of the Pout-Pout Fish bring readers a touch-and-feel alphabet exploration.

One or two letters are presented on each spread, accompanied by illustrator Hanna’s sea critters, which aim for cute rather than realistic. About one-third of the depicted creatures have a tactile feature embedded in the page, such as a glittery roughness on the hammerhead shark, a glow-in-the-dark element on the lantern fish, and even a sticky film on the octopus’ suction cups. There is no attempt to depict scale, which may confuse youngsters since a krill shrimp is as large as many much-larger creatures presented. Young fans of the Pout-Pout Fish may be disappointed, as there is only one appearance of the titular hero (“P is for Pout-Pout Fish,” of course).

Let this one swim on by. There are plenty more (and better!) ocean-themed alphabet books in the sea.