Splash!

Splash goes the cat! Splash goes the dog! Who's jumping in the pond? Falling in and crawling out, how many animals can you count?

Publishers Weekly

"I have a pond in my backyard. I have one turtle, two catfish, three frogs and four goldfish," announces the young narrator of this cheerful counting tale. She also has a dog and cat which, though far less enamored of swimming than the other creatures, also end up in the pond. The setting remains constant as Jonas's (Where Can It Be?; When You Were a Baby) art and text follow the numerous ins and outs of the pondside animals ("My dog and cat climb out. A dragonfly falls in. One frog hops out"). After noting each change, the child repeats the question, "How many are in my pond?" The real freshness here lies in Jonas's luminous illustrations, rendered in acrylic paints on clear acetate, which show playful action and humorous shifts in perspective as tiny and larger animals-and eventually the girl herself-slip into the water-each making a "SPLASH" of proportionate size. Ages 3-up. (May)

Ann Jonas has written and illustrated many popular books for children, including Color Dance, Reflections, and Round Trip, which was an ALA Notable Book and a "New York Times" Best Illustrated Book. She is a graduate of Cooper Union and has worked as a graphic designer for many years with her husband, Donald Crews. They live in upstate New York.