PreS-K--Three children visit the seaside and are surprised by all the treasures they find there. Equipped with pails and shovels, they search the shore for objects the ocean once held. Each section features a rhyming couplet describing their activity, followed by the object: "Look what I found!" Readers' eyes then scan the spread carefully for the found object. Graph paper insets in the lower right ask for three other things in the picture, and some of these are a challenge! There are birds, shells, flowers, creatures, and fossils throughout the book for readers to pore over. Tide pools and caves vary the seashore habitats and provide opportunities for different flora and fauna. Finally, it is time to head home where they lay out all their finds to marvel at once more. Advice on the final page tells children not to take living things from the beach and to leave the beach as they found it. Colorful digital images offer a very real sense of all the discoveries in the day. Substantial nonfiction is welcome for the preschool set to things they may not have had access to in real life. This is bound to spark their interest in the world around them. VERDICT A great addition to libraries and classrooms, this will inspire children to embrace all the discoveries the world has to offer.--Joan Kindig

This fun- and science-filled work unobtrusively offers three elements that can draw young readers in and keep them going. A trio of children narrates their day at the beach in simple sentences on the wonders to be discovered: "Look what I found! A curly seashell. The inside shines bright, like a pearl." Using sidebars that list items and spreads with factual descriptions, readers are given more information about seashore artifacts and are then invited to spot them in the illustrations. After the children find shells, they come across rocks, crabs, fossils, feathers, and a mermaid's purse, which they learn is a case for shark or skate eggs. After the little treasure seekers return home, readers are given a helpful reminder to take from the beach only what has washed up. Verona's bright, primary-colored, digital images portray lively beach exploration and simplified versions of scientific illustrations of the various things found there. This will be fun for grown-ups to read with children, as they can do the seek-and-find together; it's also a solid addition to classrooms and public libraries.