Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: What goes in the ocean? A seek-and-find book by Dori Elys, illustrated by Katie Cottle

 Dive down into the ocean for a seek-and-find adventure that will have little ones giggling. Starting with the beach, readers will see a colorful, detailed spread showing a lion and clownfish basking in the sun with glasses and ice cream, seagulls playing chess, and a crowd of crabs and shells. The text references the crabs and gulls and asks the reader which things belong in the ocean, with a side bar specifically instructing readers to identify what belongs on the seashore.

The following spreads repeat this layout, with a coral reef, deep ocean scene, kelp forest, Arctic ocean, and finishing with a scene combining bits of all the previous pages and encouraging readers to take care of the ocean and not litter. The last spread gives a little bit of information about each scene and lists some of the items that do not belong.

My orderly mind doesn't like it that there isn't a complete list of what doesn't belong on each spread. For example, the key to the Arctic ocean lists "jungle tigers, summertime pool floaties, and ice cream carts" but there are also ducklings, marshmallows, daisies, dandelions, swirls of whipped cream, a hot dog, and, more subtly, penguins, which do not live in the Arctic. The art is fairly detailed for a toddler audience and the the text is not really related to the pictures.

Verdict: Although there are some drawbacks that make this an additional purchase only, little ones who like to sit still and look closely will enjoy picking out all the different pictures and an adult with contextual knowledge can help them find the things that are more subtle, like the penguins, or explore some other books about the different underwater habitats.

ISBN: 9781665956109; Published May 2024 by Little Simon; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library