HIDE, FISH, HIDE!

A shark cruises hungrily; potential prey, take cover!

An unseen narrator warns of Great White Shark’s “toothy scowl,” though Filipina’s illustration shows a disarmingly goofy grin and googly eyes. Cuttlefish, Flounder, Dresser Crab, Leafy Dragon, and Octopus immediately exhibit their camouflage or concealment skills and escape being eaten. With no hiding place left, Puffer Fish seems a goner. The little fish then inflates, turning into a bristly “spiky sphere,” and the mighty predator hastily withdraws. Before Great White can hunt down another victim, he himself quails under the shadow of a pod of killer whales, hiding just in time. A four-beat quatrain details each animal’s technique; the first two lines are repeated in the following stanza, with the refrain “Whew, he’s safe and sound.” (Or, alternatively, she.) Filipina’s art is exuberant, the ocean floor a riot of deep pastels, and the style, while cartoonish, is also accurate. Noting that “it’s a dogfish-eat-dogfish ocean out there,” backmatter explains that sharks are occasionally prey for orcas and gives the proper names and descriptions for the evasive tactics these fish (and mollusks, cephalopods, and crustaceans) have deployed, among them countershading, inking, burial, and self-decoration.

A swimmingly successful blend of sea science and exciting adventure.