Sea Squares

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-- This rhyming counting book about the sea is too dense to use as an introduction to numbers, and at times seems to get caught up in its own tongue-twisting technique. There's no game involved--such as finding a number of objects or watching the numerals bend or become something else. The point is to square the number: ``8 `octos' on the ocean floor/ Have scrambled legs, 64.'' The full-color illustrations are realistic , but they don't add much feeling of animation or movement. Older children may find the math presentation a nice change of pace, but as a picture book, this is a bit ambitious. --Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Buffalo, NY