THIS IS THE REEF

For the latest in a string of visits to natural habitats that began with Arctic Song (1999) and This Is the Tree (2000), Moss and Kennaway dip into the Great Barrier Reef to introduce its huge variety of wildlife and to express concern over its vulnerability. Though the alliterative text occasionally veers into anthropomorphism—“This is the place where a lionfish yawns / at a black-spotted snapper / with wide worried eyes”—it has a stately rhythm that suits the richly hued art. A sea turtle, a brightly colored sea slug (incorrectly dubbed a “nudibrach”), dozens of identified tropical fish and other creatures glide and ripple through forests of coral “tubes, trees and antlers, / brains, feathers and fans” in Kennaway’s painted marine scenes. A handsome, if not completely accurate, addition to the shelf of similar introductions. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)