CRAB MOON
by Ruth Horowitz & illustrated by Kate Kiesler
June's full moon casts an atmospheric glow over Kiesler's (Old Elm Speaks, 1998) soft-focus shore scenes in this brief consciousness raiser. Seven-year-old David follows his mother down to the beach near their summer rental one night and watches, enchanted, as horseshoe crabs emerge to lay their eggs. The next morning, he finds an upended straggler, gingerly rights her, and watches her make her way, “quiet as a queen,” back to the sea. Along with books such as Saviour Pirotta's Turtle Bay (1997), this conveys a respectful attitude toward sea- and shore-dwelling wildlife in an unpreachy way. Young children whose interest is piqued by David's brief encounter with such ancient, alien-looking creatures will welcome the concluding page of general horseshoe crab facts. (Picture book. 6-8)