SEAHORSES

George spins a memorable selection of basic facts about seahorses on a playful current of prose: “If you were a seahorse, you could roll your eyes in two different directions, and not get dizzy. You could see where you were going and where you had come from, all at the same time. Quite a gift.” Big, sharp close-ups depict several species (identified with both common and scientific names), each more delectably weird-looking than the last, in natural settings. The author closes this beguiling introduction with additional seahorse lore, plus a lead to more information. A rare encounter with the natural world, equally suited to private research or reading aloud. (Nonfiction. 7-9)