THE RIVER

A glimmering fish travels downriver, descending snowy mountains, rushing past lush woods and wide meadows, and out to the open sea, wriggling alongside changing flora and fauna all the while.

This fishy flips and flops throughout, swimming thanks to lenticular technology. She appears as a wriggling hologram within a die-cut hole that allows her to surface midstream on each page, surrounded by a new habitat. Tilting the book, angling it to quicken or slow the fish's pace, makes her journey interactive and engaging, particularly to young readers used to visual bells and whistles. While the fish's lifelike movements and holographic glossiness appeal, they also distract (and perhaps detract) from the accompanying wildlife scenes. These soft, matte illustrations don't jive with the flashy fish but rather offer varied painterly textures, detailed fur and feathers, and evolving landscapes. Tracking the new animals and the subtle changes in their environments emerges as much more enjoyable than the endless loop of a leaping fish. Simple rhymes pull readers down the river and finally out to sea, where the fish finds her glistening, golden fish family.

Artistry trumps technology in this introduction to fish migration and the variegated beauty on our rivers' banks.