“In a bowl of water brimming / Fishes! / Lots of fishes swimming. / Max’s paws are made for pouncing. / Max’s legs are built for trouncing.” Max the cat is relentless in his determination to catch the fish swimming in their bowl; if only he weren’t distracted by catnip birds and dirty socks and dangling shoelaces and whatever else happens to catch his eye. An energetically fun, rhyming read-aloud is all the more delightful for its paws-on depiction of cat behavior. Colorful but not overly bright mixed-media illustrations against white show Max in blue with black stripes and the fishes, returned to throughout the story, as counterpoint in shades of orange, red, and pink. (Ages 3–6)

Fish and birds and lizards and socks…is there anything Max won’t attack? Watch your ankles and find out in this clever, rhyming picture book about a very naughty kitty cat.

Max is a cat. He attacks. From socks to strings to many a fish, attacking, for Max, is most de-lish. But how many of these things can he actually catch? Well, let’s just say it’s no even match.