Using a variety of poetic forms, including rhyming couplets, haiku, and acrostic, Avis Harley has crafted twenty-seven short poems inspired by Margaret Butschler’s extraordinary close-up color photographs of marine plants and animals. An appended “Looking Deeper” double-page spread identifies the subject of each poem, with common name and brief notes. The design of the book, with the framing of the photographs by thin, white borders and varying placement of the poems and photographs on flat-colored backgrounds that suggest an ocean setting, invites readers to explore the beauty of underwater life. ca

Graceful use of traditional poetic forms like haiku and tanka provides inspiration for young readers to create their own writing. Is a crab just an underwater toe-pincher? What advice do sea otters give to cure insomnia? Who is the seamstress of the sea? Avis Harley's poems invite readers to explore these and other mysteries of our great oceans. Full-color photographs capture the critters in question, and a Looking Deeper section offers exciting facts that keep kids reading.