Flood Fish: Australian

Striking paintings and poetic text do not add up to a viable story in this laconic picture book about a mystery of nature. In the Australian outback a boy tries to understand how the otherwise dry riverbed fills with fish right after a heavy rain: ``Maybe/ the gum trees/ heavy with rain/ drop their slim, fish-shaped/ leaves,/ which float a moment/ on the water/ and then dive.'' The boy's sister suggests that ``the moon sows fish eggs when she cries/ on the nights of high water.'' Eventually, more plausible explanations for the origins of the fish are offered by the boy's brother and grandfather, but, as the boy relates, ``nobody knows for sure.'' The cryptic narrative becomes clearer with an afterword, which cites various scientific theories about the ``flood fish'' and identifies the location as the Finke River. Greenberg's (I Never Knew Your Name) lyrical paintings offer a stunning visual accompaniment, but the hybrid nature of the text fails to satisfy--as a story, the book lacks plot and developed characters; as educational writing, the book lacks basic information. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)