50. The Library Fish Learns to Read

The Library Fish Learns to Read. Alyssa Satin Capucilli. 2023. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Library Fish loved her home on the desk of Mr. Hughes, the librarian. It was the perfect place to welcome every visitor to the library. From where she sat, Library Fish could check each book that was borrowed and returned.

Premise/plot: Library Fish, the library pet of Mr. Hughes, learns to read in this second picture book adventure. Library Fish commits fully to this learning-to-read process. And it starts with learning the alphabet and the sound each letter makes. Who will Library Fish read to??? Readers of the first book may just guess!

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It was just as cute and silly--imaginative--as the first. I continued to enjoy all the illustrations. The library scenes are just as charming as ever. I will say that this one is VERY text heavy.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

49. The Library Fish

The Library Fish. Alyssa Satin Capucilli. Illustrated by Gladys Jose. 2022. [March] 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Once there was a fish. She was not an ordinary fish. She didn't live in the sea or the ocean. She didn't live in a river or lake. In fact, when Mr. Hughes the librarian found her, he said, "I'm not quite sure where you came from, but, if you love stories, you've come to the right place. Some libraries have their lions, but this library will have you, Fish."

Premise/plot: Library Fish is adopted by the librarian, Mr. Hughes. Library Fish soon becomes a vital part of all the library doings. But what will happen on a SNOW DAY when the library is closed and oh-so-silent? What kind of adventures or misadventures will Library Fish have on her own?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I loved all the library scenes. It was cute. Did I love the idea of fish jumping out of her bowl and exploring the library? Maybe not so much. (I have scars.) But if I look at it purely in a creative/imaginative way, it is a silly, fun story.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Bath Book: Swim with Little Fish!

Swim with Little Fish! Lucy Cousins. 2019. Candlewick Press. 8 pages. [Source: Review copy]


First sentence: Hello! I am Little Fish happy as can be. I love to splash and splish. Come and swim with me!

Premise/plot: Lucy Cousins has several series for children. One of her series stars Little Fish. This book in that series is a bath book. While there are many board books published each year, there aren't as many bath books to be found. In this one, Little Fish swims with his many friends.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I like Little Fish. I do. The book is very colorful and fun.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Board book: Little Fish and Mommy

Little Fish and Mommy. Lucy Cousins. 2019. Candlewick Press. 22 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Hello! I am Little Fish, swimming in the sea. Today we have a special day--just Mommy Fish and me!

Premise/plot: Little Fish and Mommy is a rhyming board book. Little Fish has appeared in other books--namely Hooray for Fish. This book celebrates the relationship between parent and child.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I really liked Hooray for Fish and am glad to see Mommy Fish and Little Fish in another book. (There are other books as well: I Am Little Fish! Where Is Little Fish? and Count with Little Fish.) I like the characters. Though rhyming books can be tricky--not every writer truly grasps the importance of rhythm--this one was well-written.

We play a game together.
First Mommy shuts her eyes.
I hide behind the seaweed,
then swim right out.
Surprise!

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Swim! Swim!

Swim! Swim! by Lerch (James Proimos). 2010. July 2010. Scholastic. 32 pages.

I'm lonely.
I need to find a friend.
Swim. Swim.
Yowza! Swim.
Pebbles, will you be my friends?

Lerch is a fish that is very lonely. He wants a friend desperately. But his first attempts aren't successful. First he tries some pebbles. Second he tries a statue of a diver. Third he tries some bubbles. Will Lerch ever find a friend?

Swim! Swim! is a funny book! It is quirky and silly. I definitely recommend it!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Barry The Fish With Fingers

Barry The Fish With Fingers by Sue Hendra. 2010. June 2010. Random House. 40 pages.

Sea Slug liked to lie on the ocean floor and watch the fish swim by.
He did this every day.

One day the Sea Slug is surprised by what he sees. (This is a guy who thinks he's seen everything.) What's so amazing? This Sea Slug sees a fish with fingers. Yes, readers are introduced to a unique fish named Barry. A fish that thinks fingers are the BEST thing ever. What can a fish with fingers do? Well, he can entertain the other fish--the perpetually bored fish--with finger puppets, or he can tickle them, or do more productive things like type a letter or knit a scarf. He can even use his fingers to communicate--in this instance--danger. With fingers like these, Barry is popular. Everyone wants to know how they can get fingers too...

Can you guess how that might happen?

Barry the Fish With Fingers is one of the oddest books I've reviewed this year. Right up there with Lawn to Lawn. Though it is a different kind of odd. This is more silly. Would children giggle at the idea of a fish with fingers? I may have to try it out and see...

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

In My Pond

Gillingham, Sara. 2009. In My Pond. Illustrated by Lorena Siminovich. Chronicle Books.

This one is just too-adorable. A must-have for young fish-lovers everywhere. Meet this cute little fish as he (or I suppose it could be a she) introduces you to his pond--the shiny stones, the waving grass, the lily pads, and his family. Cute concept. I love the little finger puppet that is built into the back of the book.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Snugglebug Friday: Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash

Macdonald, Suse. Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash. Little Simon, 2007

Snugglebug loves Macdonald’s Alphabet Animals so much that for his first birthday his mama, Ladybug, purchased another of Macdonald’s books.

Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash is an unusual counting book in more ways than one, making it an especially fun book to read. The illustrations are actually cut-outs with the colors of the next page showing through. Snugglebug loves sticking his fingers through the cut-outs.

The second aspect of the book is that it is really two books in one. Once you get to the end of the book, you turn it around and count backwards to the cover. It can be a never ending story because once you reach number one it again invites you to turn the book around and count to ten again.

This book is fun and one that Snugglebug can grow into as he learns to appreciate counting in both directions.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Hooray for Fish

Cousins, Lucy. 2005. Hooray for Fish!

Written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins, this book is cute, fun, and educational. Little Fish is a bright orange baby fish who introduces the reader to all his fish friends. The fish themselves introduce the baby reader to concepts such as colors, spots, and stripes and to opposites such as happy and gripy. By the end of the book, Little Fish has introduced, Spotty Fish, Stripy Fish, Happy Fish, Gripy Fish, Ele-Fish (yes, she looks like an elephant), and so many more. But alas, Little Fish asks,

So many friends, so many fish, splosh, splash, splish!

But, where's the one I love the best, even more than all the rest?

"Hello, Mom."

"Hello, Little Fish."

Kiss, kiss, kiss,

Hooray for fish!

What mom doesn't love that ending! For that reason, Ladybug loves this book. But Snugglebug loves it because he has a thing for fishy books. Big Fish, Little Fish by Ed Heck is still one of his favorites. The illustrations of this book are bright and fun and far from realistic, keeping Snugglebug's attention quite well. Ladybug loves the unique way Cousins introduces such ordinary concepts, making this book one of our everyday readers.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers