You Can Find the Class Pet, Pout-Pout Fish!
(Pout-Pout Fish Reader)

PreS-Gr 1--Mr. Fish's class pet has escaped from its cage and is missing. "Where did he go? How do we find him?" the students ask one another. "We will find him," promises Mr. Fish, but then he sighs and pouts since he doesn't know how. Young readers can help Mr. Fish and his friends find their missing pet, a pink snail, which is wriggling on the floor or peeking from the shelf on some of the pages. Diesen and Monés, whose illustrations are based on those created by Dan Hanna, continue the "Pout-Pout Fish" series, which is geared for beginning readers and is easy to follow in large type. Readers will be pleased that the rhymes in this book are rhythmic and flowing, complementing the pictures. The cartoon-style sea characters are drawn in light pastels accented with dark fins and flippers. Pout-Pout Fish is depicted in a school classroom; this will delight young readers, who will laugh as they recognize the familiar setting with unusual students. VERDICT Pair with other books with similar themes, including Margaret Wise Brown's Home for a Bunny, Don Freeman's Corduroy, and Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten.--Monica Fleche