Ten Little Fish - Tapa dura

Kirkus
Review Date: AUGUST 01, 2004
This charming, colorful counting tale of ten little fish runs full-circle. Although the light verse opens and closes with ten fish swimming in a line, page-by-page the line grows shorter as the number of fish diminishes one-by-one. One fish dives down, one gets lost, one hides, and another takes a nap until a single fish remains. Then along comes another fish to form a couple and suddenly a new family of little fish emerges to begin all over. Slick, digitally-created images of brilliant marine flora and fauna give an illusion of underwater depth and silence enhancing the verse's numerical and theatrical progression. The holistic story bubbles with life's endless cycle. (Picture book. 3-5)
School Library Journal
October 1, 2004

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 Reed Business Information.

Booklist
August 1, 2004

PreS. In this simple counting story from the mother-son team, glossy computer-generated illustrations show a school of cute, expressive tropical fish that disappear, one per spread, providing a descending counting exercise that leaves one yellow fish. Then lonely yellow meets and falls in love with an attractive green that happens by, and the two parents create a new school of fish to be counted. The circular story and the bouncing rhymes, which create just the right suspense with each page turn, will encourage preschoolers to gleefully chant along, and the bright, tropical underwater world filled with adorable Nemo-like fish will delight young fans of the cartoon feature. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2004 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
July 19, 2004
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 Reed Business Information.

""...charming...The holistic story bubbles with life's endless cycle."" -Kirkus Reviews

Energetic text and colorful pictures combine to introduce little ones to counting as Ten Little Fish explore their vibrant underwater realm filled with exciting surprises!