In Seashells by the Seashore, beautiful art, a counting format, accurate information about the animals that made and live inside the shells, and rhyming text draw the reader to the shoreline of the beach and into the state of mind one finds when they are exploring the water's edge.

Counting from one to twelve (one to ten in the Board Book edition), Sue picks up shells-periwinkle, kitten's paw, scallop-and carefully adds them to her bucket as a gift for Grandma. She and her friend identify the shells, and when they discover one that still has the mollusk living inside they put it back in the water-learning that shells are actually the (usually) abandoned homes of sea animals. The paperback edition contains a tear-out shell identification card to enhance the hands-on lesson in nature's simple wonders.