Hooray for Fish! (Book)

Cousins, L. (2005). Hooray for fish!. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978-0-7636-2741-6

Interest Level: Ages 5 and under
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Fish, Rhyming Stories, Mother and Child, Descriptive Words

Plot: Little fish invites the reader to meet all of his different fishy friends.  Little fish says hello to fish that are stripped, spotted, thin, small, hairy, scary, and shy.  Some of the fish are very imaginative such as the "eye fish" which is a fish that looks like an eye ball complete with eye lashes.  Then little fish goes looking for the one fish he loves the best, his Mom!

Personal Thoughts: The illustrations in this book feature brightly colored fish against different blue backgrounds that represent the water.  The fish are everything from small to large, stripped to spotted.  There are a couple imaginary fish such as the eye-fish and the ele-fish, a fish with an elephant head.  The fish are mostly happy looking creatures.  The simple text uses a variety of descriptive words to name the fish.  The rhyming is very basic but mostly works.  There are only a few words per page which is good for younger children but makes for slow reading aloud.  Most of the reader's interest will probably be in the illustrations rather then the story.  A good fish themed book for 3 and under storytimes or 5 to 3 year olds looking to read on their own.

Other Books by the Author: Maisy the Mouse Series [Website]; I'm the Best (2010); Yummy: eight favorite fairy tales (2009); Za-Za's baby brother (1995);