A short rhyming tale mergesnature and debris to create art from remains of rainy days. When the day turnsgray and rain starts to fall, "that's when rain fish come out andplay." From found materials (fallen leaves and feathers and items clearlyplucked from the recycling bucket and waste stream), images of fishes arecreated and depicted at play in the flowing gutters. Through Ehlert'sdistinctive collage illustrations and playful text, readers follow the lifecycle of rain fishes and are encouraged to wonder where these fishes will gonext. The book invites children to look closely at the waste they discard,prompting them to consider how orange peels, ticket stubs, cardboard, bottlecaps, cans, and other garbage make their way to the stream--both the waste streamand Ehlert's fanciful rain-fed stream--and the role of humans in their creation.The collage illustrations of found materials are vivid, although they need tobe seen from a distance for readers to truly appreciate them and see the rainfishes, making this ideal for storytime or classroom use. A list of images ofdiscards and debris that were used for the illustrations is appended and shouldbe useful for craft activities after a read-aloud of the book. This picturebook and its lyrical text will make readers see fishes in unexpected places.

(author's note) (Picture book. 4-7).