Fish Fish Fish

Here preschoolers and early readers meet underwater denizens at their most exuberant and frolicsome. In her first book, Willgoss's ebullient torn paper collages illuminate the bold stripes, exotic spots and intriguing shapes inhabiting rivers, lakes, streams and seas. While adults and younger aquarium aficionados will recognize blowfish, skates, sharks and more in the illustrations, Adams's elementary, sometimes rhythmic text appropriately refrains from naming species--focusing instead on generic aspects of color, shape, gills, fins and scales. In addition to teaching color words and recognition of attributes, the book effectively introduces opposite qualities (``fierce'' and ``gentle,'' ``bold'' and ``shy,'' ``alone'' and ``together'') in ways preschoolers will grasp and remember. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)