HOW MANY FISH?

This My First I Can Read title is a rhythmic puzzle for the youngest of readers. A school of six fish swimming happily in the bay come up against the six feet belonging to three children, one of them armed with a red pail. An energetic and repetitive refrain will be comfortable for emerging readers; the visual clues supplied by Schindler's bold illustrations also build math skills. A gentle drama about an odd fish out—it is captured in the pail but escapes when the small pail-wielder's attention is claimed elsewhere—will appeal to children and boost their confidence in taking on more difficult reading material. (Fiction. 4-6)