Counting Is for the Birds

Backyard birds throng a hanging feeder in this counting book, arriving in pairs until they number 20. The cat has been lying in wait, but just as he finally pounces, the furry ""gray streak"" of a squirrel swoops in and the birds-chickadees, nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, sparrows, cardinals, finches and more-take wing. Stiffly rhyming couplets narrate the slight story (""The number of birds/ grows larger so fast,/ The cat still watches/ the birds that fly past""), while prose captions briefly describe the feeding and social behaviors of each avian arrival. An appendix tells how to identify the male and female of each species. Mazzola's (illustrator of The Crayon Counting Book) bright digital paintings combine backgrounds of airbrush-like softness with foregrounds of almost photographic detail, lending the illustrations depth and luminosity. The attractively designed pages frame the text and illustrations with twig borders. By compelling readers to find what's new in each picture, the book trains the eye to differentiate among species. It's too bad the text is not as airborne as the art. Ages 3-8. (Mar.)