Ten Little Fish

Mother-and-son team Audrey and Bruce Wood (Alphabet Adventury) turn from ABC to 1, 2, 3 as they introduce Ten Little Fish, a knee-bouncing, countdown. One by one, the fish become diverted: "Five Little Fish, swimming by the shore./ One grabs a snack, and now there are..." When only one remains, he meets his soulmate, and they birth a new school of 10 fish. Bruce Wood's cheeky, 3-D illustrations owe a debt to Finding Nemo as he constructs an inviting undersea landscape. Copyright 2004 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-K -From 10 to 1, this creative counting book features a school of colorful, Nemo-like fish as they gradually disappear from readers' view. Each spread contains a couplet with the final rhyming number word appearing after turning the page-"Ten Little Fish, swimming in a line./One dives down, and now there are]." The cleverness is not in the poetry, but rather in the simple plot line. After the author counts down to 1, she quickly brings the number back up again, as the final fish finds a mate and they have 10 little babies. The digitally created art has a 3-D appearance. In one picture, a fish peers out of a glass bottle at the bottom of the sea, and its features are appropriately distorted. Bubbles with a luminescent sheen surround all of the brightly colored creatures. The clear-water turquoise and vibrant chartreuse used for the backgrounds stunningly show off the multicolored animals. This concept book will appeal to children who are drawn to the filmlike artistry of the pictures.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.