Washed Up in the Waves is a great poetry book about the ocean and ocean life. Each page or every 2 pages are dedicated to a different sea creature. Some of the book is written in first person, which makes it a fun read because it presents factual information, yet readers can imagine the creatures talking to them. For example, “We crabs dine from the ocean’s bottom,” “I am the hammerhead…I swim in a circle; I swim in my sleep…” The rhythm created by the poetic style made it a fun read as well. I also found it interesting that the author included some calls to action for the readers, for example, “So please, if you walk on their rocks remove your shoes and walk in socks.” This gives readers something to think about next time they visit a beach! Finally, I loved the illustrations. They look like realistic drawings with nice, faded colors. My personal favorite illustrations are the crabs! Overall, Washed Up in the Waves is an interesting and cute poetry book with a big idea of learning about sea life and what people can do to protect it. ( )

All y'all with little ones and not so little ones, you need this book. If you have a Kindle and Amazon Prime, especially, it's almost like you're paying them *not* to get it, unless you do. Margo's cadence and phrasing are solid and musical, and Bruce MacDonald's illustrations set the poems off perfectly. Some of the creatures' deliberately ungrammatically correct "voices" had me sniggering while trying to read aloud to my 6-year-old son, so you may want to do a first read-through on your own to get the giggles out - or not!

(Disclosure: I am Facebook friends with the author, although we haven't met offline. Yet. Hi, Margo!)