COOL CATS COUNTING

In their follow-up to Spicy Hot Colors (2004), Shahan and Barragán again combine short, peppy text and vivid colors to create a busy, attractive picture book, informed by rhythmically jazzy beats. Shahan’s rhyme and assonance characterize snappy English language quatrains followed by the first line of the quatrain translated into Spanish—“Seven rabbits / jump-and-jive / slappin’ high-five. / ZIPPETY-DO-RAH! // SIETE CONEJOS.” Because Barragán’s dancing animals frolic on rich, flat color fields, rather than within settings, there are no distractions from their humorous expressions and various costumes—hats, corsages, fringed skirts, high heels and spectacles. Simple and short enough for a breezy read-aloud, this also provides illustrations sufficiently detailed for pre-readers and beginners to mull over at their leisure. (Picture book. 3-7)