This attractive picture book looks at the flora and fauna of the salt marsh. On each spread, rhyming verses begin with the time of day and go on to comment on an animal or a plant: "It's two o'clock in the salt marsh. / A fish, small and tiny / swimming all around the grass / with scales so small and shiny. / The marsh is like a nursery / where little fish can hide. /  They eat the food that's brought their way / with each new rising tide." The sensitive, precisely rendered artwork, which shows up particularly well from a distance, uses three overlapping scenes on a spread that neatly work together to show the salt marsh as a whole while offering close-ups of details. Appendixes include a matching game and illustrated paragraphs on the importance of salt marshes, the effects of tidal changes on inhabitants, and the cause of the oceans' tides. A welcome addition to science collections, given the dearth of material on this vital ecosystem.

Materials; directions for drawing people, animals, and objects; the difference between gag cartoons, comic strips, and comic books, plus a section on writing humor are all covered in this clear introduction to the art of cartooning. Though it may not answer all questions, the upbeat tone, creative exercises, and lots of example illustrations will inspire budding artists. Ind.

Gr 1-3-While exploring the hillside behind her new house, Julie finds a sparkly clear rock that her dad identifies as a crystal. He knows that it is made of quartz, that it comes from a vein in the ground, and that all crystals grow and have the same shape even if they are different sizes. While Julie is unfamiliar with technical terms such as "silicon dioxide" and "veins," she is fascinated by what her dad teaches her. The book successfully incorporates nitty-gritty detail about crystals. Soft pastel illustrations make this a warm, accessible introduction to rock collecting. The interplay between Julie and her dad and the infectious enthusiasm passed between the two add to the appeal of digging up treasure in one's own backyard. A four-page reproducible section "For Creative Minds" features tips on becoming a rockhound, a Moh's Hardness Scale for comparing minerals, and recipes that serve as models for understanding how different types of rocks are made. This book will find a place in either picture-book or natural-science collections.-Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.