The Tide Pool Waits
by Candace Fleming (Author) Amy Hevron (Illustrator)
Dive into the rich ecology of tide pools and watch a hidden world spring in this masterful nonfiction picture book for young readers.
Twice a day when the tide goes out, an astonishing world is revealed in the tide pools that form along the Pacific Coast. Some of the creatures that live here look like stone. Others look like plants. Some move so slowly it's hard to tell if they're moving at all, while others are so fast you're not sure you really saw them. The biggest animals in the pool are smaller than your hand, while the smallest can't be seen at all without a microscope. During low tide, all these creatures - big, small, fast, slow - are exposed to air and the sun's drying heat. And so they have developed ways to survive the wait until the ocean's return.
Candace Fleming is the author of Honeybee, which received an Orbis Pictus Honor and 7 starred reviews. She brings her knack for making science and nature appealing to the very young in The Tidepool Waits with detailed accounts of dozens of species of sea life, culminating in a perfect primer for students and nature lovers taking their first trip to the shore. Her text is accompanied by effervescent artwork by Amy Hevron and substantial backmatter.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
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Waves crash on shore and then recede, and in their wake a tide pool is formed. It is filled with wondrous creatures including barnacles, crabs, opaleyes, sea star, sculpin, octopus and more. Soon "the sea can't resist the pull of the moon, the turn of the earth, the sun and the wind" and the waves "sweep towards shore." As the tide pool once again become a part of the ocean, even more remarkable creatures can be seen, such as sea anemones, shrimp, and tubeworms, and the cycle is repeated. Fleming makes great use of action verbs, engaging descriptions, and just the right amount of repetition to draw readers into the tide pool and hold their interest. The dynamic text placement helps reinforce the movement of the ocean, while Hevron's illustrations give life to the words and with every graceful overlay of line and wash, effectively depict the creatures and the ocean itself. The focus is on nature; humans are neither mentioned, seen, nor relevant. The back matter contains an illustrated guide to the creatures plus "Let's Explore" and "Where Do They Live?" sections. VERDICT This narrative nonfiction on Pacific Coast tide pools is a great read-aloud with text spacing and other cues to provide drama, a perfect accompaniment for the dramatic activity in the tide pool itself.—Catherine Callegari
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Publishers Weekly
Fleming's examination of a liminal natural world starts before the title page: waves "cr-e-e-e-e-p" back from a shoreline, stranding creatures in pools of seawater until high tide returns. Using acrylic paint and pencil, Hevron drafts flat, graphic shapes in milky shades to show the sea creatures of the intertidal zone suspending animation in and around warming pools: "Beds of mussels close up tight, too./ So do turban snails./ And limpets./ And chitons./ They wait." The mechanism of tidal action itself is explained only vaguely ("the pull of the moon, / the turn of the earth"). Instead, in lyrical lines that play with sound, Fleming concentrates on the hush of low tide, and the action that erupts when the ocean returns ("CR-A-A-A-A-SH!") and the creatures begin to feed and to swim. Onomatopoeic text and clear images together convey the phenomenon of the tide pool clearly to even landlocked readers. Back matter provides an illustrated guide to a Pacific Coast tide pool. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Julie teaches illustration to undergraduate and graduate students at the Academy of Art University. She lives in San Francisco.
Tide pool ecology
Tide pools
