The Octopus by Guojing (Two Lions, 48 pages, ages 4-8). A little girl and her mother are walking on the beach when they find a tiny octopus caught in some plastic rings. The girl carefully frees the octopus, then lets it go in the ocean. To repay her kindness, the creature uses a shell pendant around her neck to create magic that shrinks her down to its own size. Together they go on a magical journey through the sea, swimming with all kinds of marine animals and hiding together in scallop shells. When a sea turtle swims head first into a plastic bag, the girl frees it, then takes the bag back with her when she returns home. Back on the beach with her mom, she discards the bag and other trash she’s found into the proper receptacles, then shares her amazing story with her mother while they watch a beautiful beach sunset together. Includes an author’s note with additional information about keeping beaches clean and treating animals with respect, as well as some fun facts about octopuses.

The luminous illustrations tell the story in this wordless picture book that also imparts a lesson about taking care of the environment. Kids will be enraptured by the adorable octopus and the magical underwater scenes.

The Secrets of the Jellies: Amazing Jellyfish and Their Surprising Talents by Karen Jameson, illustrated by Marie Hermansson (Chronicle Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s jellyfish exhibit and live Jelly Cam, this book introduces kids to jellyfish with rhyming text and colorful illustrations portraying a variety of species that sometimes seems to glow in their marine habitat. A sentence or two on each page gives a fact about jellyfish, all of which are elaborated on in a page-by-page guide at the end. There are also thumbnail illustrations and additional information about 22 different jellyfish.

Readers will want to hop on a plane to California to see what must be a truly spectacular exhibit at the Monterey Aquarium. The book is written and illustrated in a way that will appeal to very young readers, but the additional information in the back makes it a good choice for older kids too. The only thing missing was a list of resources for further research.

The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story: a book to read from front to back and back to front by Kate Messner, illustrated by Brian Biggs (Clarion Books, 40 pages, ages 4-9). A whale and an otter stand at a microphone, each one prepared to make the case about why its species is the best. Starting on the first page, the whale explains the superior ways that whales hunt, communicate, swim, and help the environment, with disparaging remarks about otters sprinkled throughout. The last page tells readers to start on the last page and read the book backwards. In this version, the exact same words are used by the otter to make the case that otters are better than whales. The author’s note explains how words can be used to create misinformation and encourages readers to consider a speaker or writer’s point of view learning something new. There’s also additional information about whales and otters, with a list of books for further reading.

This very clever book is written like Marilyn Singer’s reveso poetry, making it fun to read but also a good exercise in thinking about how the same words can be used to present points of view that are completely opposite. The illustrations are cute, with lots of humor, although I personally prefer a greater variety of colors than the mostly turquoise and black.