fish

Review: Pool by JiHyeon Lee

| Tasha

Pool by JiHyeon Lee

Pool by JiHyeon Lee (InfoSoup)

A boy stands at the end of a swimming pool, ready to hop in. But just as he is about to, a crowd of people arrive and take over the pool. It is crammed full of them with their floating tubes and boats, leaving no area of water open. But the boy finds a sliver of water along the side of the pool and dives down underneath the crowd. A girl sees him dive down and heads down herself. The two meet underwater and head deeper together. Down at the bottom of the pool they discover a coral reef filled with wild fish that swim in large schools. There are also tubes large enough for a kid or a colorful eel to hide in. Large toothy fish swim by and then a gargantuan white whale too. The children head up to the surface again, as the rest of the crowd head out of the pool. The two of them are left to dry off side by side and wonder at what else could be underneath that water.

Lee captures the beauty of swimming and the wonder of imagination in this wordless picture book. The two children are distinct from the others floating on the surface, built in a more delicate way and almost matching except for their swimsuits. As they dream of reefs and fish, the water fills with animals. There is a playfulness to their imaginations, creating a world together that is filled with amazing things.

Delicate illustrations are filled with the blue of the pool. As the coral reef appears, there are animals of all sorts, even water spiders. The wonder of the huge white whale is a moment that is lengthened and filled with importance in this picture book. Throughout the pacing is masterfully done, allowing readers time to explore and dream themselves.

A book that encourages long looks and your own fish designs, this picture book is an inspiring and refreshing watery read. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Chronicle Books.

Review: Poor Doreen: A Fishy Tale by Sally Lloyd-Jones

| Tasha

poor doreen

Poor Doreen: A Fishy Tale by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Alexandra Boiger

Mrs. Doreen Randolph-Potts is a very rare Ample Roundy Fish who is headed to visit her cousin who has just had a baby, or 157 babies to be exact.  So Doreen is swimming down the river when she spots what she thinks is a tasty dragonfly, but it is not.  It is actually a lure held by a fisherman, but Doreen does not know that and she gulps it down.  Soon Doreen is lifted into the air and plunked into a basket.  She thinks she is just there for a little rest before she heads on her journey, but she is wrong again.  Instead a Great Heron snaps her up and carries her off.  But as he has her in his jaws, Doreen thanks him for the ride.  She then manages to insult him by asking if he is an egret and when he tries to answer her she falls down, down into the water again.  So that leaves two very embarrassed creatures:  a fisherman and a heron who both lost their catch that day and one rather confused but safe Doreen who makes it to her cousin’s home with a great story to share.

Doreen is a great character, always looking on the bright side of her world though in a rather confused way.  She’s an optimist through and through, one who always sees the best, though sometimes at her own peril.  The book is designed to be read aloud with the fonts leading readers along the way.  It has great pacing for sharing aloud as well as a good amount of humor which always helps.  The language of the writing is also very special.  Here is my favorite line of the book to give you some of the flavor: 

By the water’s edge

a Fisherman wearing a coat the color of the sun

and a Great Blue Heron wearing a coat the color of a stormy sky

with a neck like an S

for SPEAR

are fishing.

Wonderful writing with richness and depth, contrasts and foreshadowing.  It’s simply superb.

Boiger’s art is appropriately done in watercolor for this fishy story.  Doreen pops on the page with her bright scarf and umbrella, both in red.  The action is captured nicely on the page, filled with bubbles, swirls and motion. 

A clever and optimistic book, children are sure to root for Doreen on her great adventure.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

Review: Jim Curious by Matthias Picard

| Tasha

jim curious

Jim Curious: A Voyage to the Heart of the Sea by Matthias Picard

In black and white images, a boy walks out his house.  With a klang, he emerges and takes steps with a loud bong since he’s wearing a diving suit.  Turn the page, put on your 3D glasses, and once the boy enters the water the magic starts to happen.  Jim is now exploring.  He passes a sunken car and a long pipeline, but soon reaches the open ocean.  As the pages turn, the 3D effects are gasp-worthy and so well done.  Readers and Jim together are on an amazing journey at sea.

A nearly wordless book, this is true immersion.   I’m not usually a fan of books with gimmicks but the 3D is put to such incredible use on the page here that I found myself immediately drawn in.  It is so effective that you will find yourself reaching out to touch parts of the image that seem closest and then feel shocked when you touch a flat page.  It happened to me time and again. 

While this may not be ideal to circulate at libraries since the glasses will quickly be lost, this is a great gift book that is definitely worth exploring.  Appropriate for ages 4-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Review: Paul Meets Bernadette by Rosy Lamb

| Tasha

paul meets bernadette

Paul Meets Bernadette by Rosy Lamb

Paul is a fish who just circles his bowl, over and over again in different patterns.  But his life changes when Bernadette joins him in his bowl.  She shows him the world beyond his bowl.  They can see boats, forests filled with colorful trees, a cactus, and even an elephant with babies.  Of course, what they are thinking they see isn’t really what is there.  The objects are far more mundane: bananas, flowers, a clock and a teapot and cups.  Paul’s entire world expanded and made room for the outside world but most especially for Bernadette.

Lamb’s book combines a gentle humor with a warm charm.  It is a story about the power of one person to open the other’s vision and imagination.  It is about transformation but also being able to transform while staying right where you are.  Lamb’s illustrations are done in paint, daubed thick enough at times to add plenty of texture to the images.  The colors are subtle, the globe the fish live in almost bubble-like as it floats on the page. 

This delightful picture book will have young readers wondering what Paul and Bernadette would see in their room too.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The Story of Fish & Snail by Deborah Freedman

| Tasha

story of fish and snail

The Story of Fish & Snail by Deborah Freedman

This is the story of Fish and Snail who were great friends.  Every day, Snail would wait for Fish to return with a new story.  This time, Fish returned with a great story, one so wonderful that Fish wanted to show Snail instead of tell about it.  But Snail doesn’t want to leave the book they are in.  Snail wants to stay right there and play kittens instead of pirates.  The two start to argue and finally Fish declares that it is THE END and leaves the book.  Snail was so sad.  This was not the way the story was meant to end.  So Snail leans farther outside of the page and sees Fish in a watery book below.  Will Snail leave his safe book and dare to tumble down to the other ocean below?  Will Fish return with more stories?

Freedman captures a story-within-a-story here with her setting of two characters living not just in one picture book but many.  It is the story of two opposite characters who still manage to be friends, most of the time.  There is the sedentary Snail who longs for the stories but not the real adventure.  Then there is the irrepressible Fish who jumps and leaps literally off of the page.  The pair make for a balanced friendship but also one with plenty of room for misunderstanding too.  Their conversation and fight are written strongly and honestly.

Freedman’s art is gorgeous.  Readers will recognize her as the author and illustrator of Blue Chicken.  She uses similar splash effects in her art here.  The blues are gorgeously green and filled with light.  When Fish swims the bubbles take on a stronger form as Freedman lets the watercolor dapple the page.  There is one beautiful image of Snail looking down to the other book that plays with perspective cleverly.

I’ve heard Caldecott rumblings for this one and with its playful yet artistic illustrations, I’d love to see that.  In the end though, it’s also a great story about friendship, books and being willing to take risks.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.

Review: This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

| Tasha

this is not my hat

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

I never expected to see a sequel to I Want My Hat Back but I am so thrilled that Klassen saw things differently.  This second book has a similar theme to it with a stolen hat, but it has entirely different characters.  This time the story is set underwater with fish playing the major roles.  One little fish has stolen a hat from a big sleeping fish.  He knows it was wrong, but justifies it by the fact the hat looks so much better on him and fits better too.  As he flees to the thick reeds to hide, he thinks to himself about how clever he has been, that the fish would never notice it missing, that he wouldn’t know where to look for the thief, on and on.  And with each sentence, the readers will see that he’s wrong, very wrong.

This sequel has the same understated style of the first and the same wonderful sense of humor that is exquisitely funny.  Klassen maximizes the humor with his flawless ability to tell one story in the words and an entirely different one with the action of what really happens. 

For all the fans of the first book, this is one that works best if you have read the first, but also stands on its own completely.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.