Curious Kittens

In this photographic volume keyed to cat lovers, Volkmann begins eliciting the ""ahs"" from the very first page. With a bit more plot than his recent Hide-and-Seek Puppies, this humorous romp centers on the most inquisitive of a trio of kittens. A black-and-white feline stares longingly through a fishbowl (""Look at Fish""), its wide-eyed face made even wider thanks to the distortion of the water and glass, while its two tabby compadres, one silvery gray, the other marmalade, cheer on their pal. The kitten has no gustatory designs on the bowl's inhabitant; rather, it wants to know ""what it's like to be in there... going round and round all day."" Getting in with Fish is quickly ruled out (too wet), but when an empty fishbowl is discovered, the black-and-white kitten eagerly stuffs himself into the space. The moral: ""Swimming is harder than it looks!"" Volkmann's crisp visuals give the minimal text a soup on of style. He photographs the cats on white sweeps, with a fish and fishbowls as the only props, and plays with the way the water and glass distort perspective. With just one simple sentence per page, he wittily captures the felines' goofy reasoning. Ages 1-4. (Mar.)