Miss Smith Under the Ocean

Gr 1—4—During a trip to the aquarium, Miss Smith (think Mo in Inkheart) opens her Incredible Storybook and in a flash her class teleports to the Owl and the Pussycat's pea-green boat. Through shipwrecks and storms, the children literally run into the likes of Moby-Dick, Robinson Crusoe, the Little Mermaid, Gulliver, and Captain Nemo in his forever-at-sea Nautilus and complete an episodic journey from the death-churning sea to the safety of a ship. Garland's brightly hued, computer-rendered illustrations fit the aesthetic of gaming kids today. So does the action-packed plot. For the other great elements of fiction and picture-book art, grab your spyglass and look elsewhere. This offering is great for libraries peddling the classics to their students and looking to dazzle bored kids, but it's a far cry from classic picture books that beg to be read and read again.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City