A skimpy plot and repetitive artwork render this seaside tale as barren as a beach at low tide. A boy settles into his bed beneath a stark poster of a clam diagram (with its siphons, shell and foot labeled) and listens to his mother's story about a self-absorbed young clam. Panel illustrations show the bivalve digging deep into the sand with his foot when the tide goes out and stretching out his siphons to sleep underwater when the tide comes in. But one day the clam gets caught up in "swirling his siphons" and fails to heed the warning of the protective tide, which announces the impending arrival of hungry predators: a gull, conch and starfish. Slow to awaken to the danger, the clam manages, quite unconvincingly, to squirt, kick and snap at his foes, whom the incoming tide then washes ashore with a vengeance. As the sea calms and the clam sleeps, the tide sings a trite lullaby. Bringing the tale ashore, Reiser (Margaret and Margarita) shows the mother telling her son, "Sleep tight, my little clam." Following that, in a kind of strange epilogue, is an illustrated "A Little Clam Game," which shows the mother using bedclothes to imitate the movement of the tide as the boy, pretending his pillow is a shell, mimics a clam's motions. Few will feel compelled to shell out any clams for this one. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-From the opening and closing illustrations of a mother tucking her child into bed, it's clear that this is a bedtime story. "Once there was a little clam..." begins this tale of a mollusk that escapes its natural predators by hiding in the sand as various creatures of the sea sing it a lullaby. The details are scientifically accurate but listeners will need additional facts to understand completely the process the clam undertakes in burying itself and breathing. Although the animal's siphons are mentioned repeatedly, how and why they are used is never fully explained. Simple, full-color illustrations against a white background offer some information, but youngsters may still find the book confusing. A quote by the author on the book flap draws a sentimental parallel between the clam's struggles and triumphs and those of children. This is a good effort at producing an educational book, but it does have its shortcomings.
Shelley Woods, Boston Public Library, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
