SLIDE & SURPRISE IN THE OCEAN

Every page of this pull-the-tab book features weird and wonderful marine life hiding in a vibrantly illustrated underwater environment.

Many of the tabs reveal information about the creatures’ bodies, behaviors, and habitats. Revealed with an upward pull, the father sea horse, for example, cares for his babies “behind the seaweed,” referencing the phenomenon that sea horses carry and hatch the young of the species. Similarly, a squirting squid hides in a “cloud of ink,” referring to the squid’s ink sacs. The bottom of each double-page spread also contains a more explicit fact, such as the fact that squids have three hearts. The illustrations are colorful and detailed, giving young children plenty to look at while they are listening to the text. Some of the text guides readers through the book by posing questions that can be answered by pulling the tabs; other tabs ask readers to do things like identify starfish by their colors or count sea gulls that multiply with the pull of a cleverly telescoping tab. The book is well designed—the tabs are furnished with grommets, and they are large and easy to manipulate—and while the text is sparse, its simplicity makes it perfect for very young children.

An entertaining, well-designed introduction to the ocean world.