BLUE SEA

by Robert Kalan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 19, 1979

Blue sea little fish big fish swim, little fish. . . ."" So goes this 74-word picture book by the creators of the more ponderable Rain (1978). (It was Crews who gave us more to ponder in Rain; Kalan is always a sparer of words.) Here, against a deep blue background, Crews' dayglo-colored fish shapes line up--from ""little"" to ""big"" to ""bigger"" to ""biggest""--with mouths agape as if to demonstrate that little fish have big fish to bite 'em and so on. But the four fish come to a ""small hole"" (in a blob of coral) and only three get through; ""bigger fish"" is blocked next by a ""smaller hole"" (a ship's porthole) and big fish by the ""smallest hole"" (in a fish net--leaving only an unconcerned ""little fish [in a] blue sea"" on the final page. This has none of the smash and power of Crews' own very simple Freight Train (1978), but the ingenious presentation of the size concepts, the little fish's walkaway triumph, and the direct, emphatic style are all discerningly geared to the very young.

Pub Date: Feb. 19, 1979

ISBN: 0688115098

Page Count: -

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1979

Categories: CHILDREN'S