‘Fish School,’ ‘Going to the Sea Park’ and ‘Life in a Coral Reef’

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This September has seen the release of three new picture books that visit ocean life — two class outings to aquariums and one close-up look at a coral reef.

The title of “Fish School” is a fun pun. Charlie sneaks his goldfish, Wishy, to school in a Ziploc bag so that Wishy can enjoy a class field trip to the aquarium. And on the field trip, the children stay together like a school of fish. Of course, with a goldfish hidden in Charlie’s backpack, something is bound to go awry.

While enjoying the humorous adventure, readers will pick up tidbits of information about fish. A helpful key identifies the varieties of fish in the colorful gouache illustrations, and the last page gives tips for goldfish care. And just in case readers are tempted to try Charlie’s trick at home, Charlie makes it clear that goldfish should not really be carried in a Ziploc bag. Wishy is lucky to be alive!

“Going to the Sea Park” takes Little Critter and his anthropomorphic classmates to a hands-on oceanarium, complete with a petting tank, a lunchroom serving swordfish burgers, and a pretend pirate ship. The “I Can Read” text is intended for very beginning readers with some adult support: a lively story told with easy vocabulary, short sentences, and plenty of repetition.

Each scene is illustrated with Mayer’s signature charm and humor. In a book where the schoolchildren are themselves animals — hippo, alligator, tiger, bunny, and more — the aquarium fish, turtles, and other displays are surprisingly believable. Little Critter thoroughly enjoys his adventure, and so will young readers.

The Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science book “Life in a Coral Reef” offers young readers an undersea view that is both spellbinding and scientifically accurate. Poetic text conveys the beauty and magic of “this coral kingdom, with its stony towers and turrets.” The exotic creatures are described in terms a young child can relate to: for example, the coral polyps that build the reefs are themselves “the size of a grain of rice.”

Intricate collage illustrations contribute to the appeal of this book. The value of coral reefs to all life on earth is emphasized in “Fun Facts” at the back of the book, although several un-fun facts reveal that coral reefs are at risk today.

Very different from each other despite their common theme, these three books share with young children an appreciation of our oceans and their inhabitants.

Children’s literature specialist Paula Morrow lives and writes in Princeton. She welcomes comments and book suggestions at: Reviews@PaulaMorrow.com.