“Push away from the stillness of the nut-brown land, from the road that leads to the shore …. For the water sings blue and the sky does too … “ A marvelous collection of poems about the watery landscape of the sea and things found in and around it combine to build a sense of wonder, and even a little whimsy. Kate Coombs’s poems are often playful in concept (a sea urchin falling in love with a fork, a Hermit crab realtor cataloging his listings: various types of shells). But she also offers fresh, arresting descriptions of ocean wonders (a shark “slides through the water / like a rumor / like a sneer … the color of fear”). Meilo So’s watercolor paintings provide the perfect visual backdrop, soft-edged and dreamy with their watery blues and greens and sandwashed browns, but with occasional bold splashes of color that enliven the seascape, whether it’s bright cities of coral splashed with pinks and yellows and greens on one page, or the blooms of red-orange jellyfish on another. (Ages 4–9)

Come down to the shore with this rich and vivid celebration of the ocean! With watercolors gorgeous enough to wade in by award-winning artist Meilo So and playful, moving poems by Kate Coombs, Water Sings Blue evokes the beauty and power, the depth and mystery, and the endless resonance of the sea.