This book introduces many different types of fish through a chant. There is not a story line, but the illustrations make the book fun to follow. ( )

After I met April Pulley Sayre at ALA (and ok, I am not a big celebrity author fan kind of person, but I do like meeting authors that I think are important; like Sayre, who is one of the authors who pioneered a new writing style of nonfiction for very young children) I had the urge to go back and read through her backlist. This is one I hadn't seen before and I can't believe I missed it!

We love Sayre's fruit and vegetables chants and I was delighted to discover that she has a fish chant. This is especially apropos for our area, which has a gazillion lakes and most kids have gone fishing, or eat fish regularly. There's a swinging rhythm to the choice of fish names that would make this a rousing storytime read, "Threespine Stickleback, Freshwater Drum/Lake Chub, Creek Chub, Chum, Chum, Chum." Read this a couple times through and you'll find the kids chanting it along with you.

The illustrations are also a big draw. Park has a wildly different style than the more photographic or collage styles that are usually paired with Sayre. He's a cartoonist and his fish are wildly exaggerated with gaping mouths, bulging eyes, and accessories from water skis to magnifying glasses. Almost every glossy fish includes some kind of pun on their name or a joke.

Verdict: I don't usually buy backlist, but this is one that should definitely have been added to the collection and I intend to remedy that. If you live in a lake area, I highly recommend purchasing it if you don't already own it.

ISBN: 9781559718899; Published 2004 by Northwoods Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's tentative order list

This poetic book of fish is both interesting and unusual. The poem that makes up the vast majority of the book is basically a rhyming list poem of the different varieties of fish. The last two pages are full of brief descriptions of the fish that the poem mentions. The illustrations are meant to be comical and narrate a very human underwater fish world. It's not my favorite book on fish, or even my favorite April Sayre book, but it's not bad. ( )

Popeye Shiner,
he looks mad.
Stonecat.
Blindcat.
Shad.
Shad.
Shad!

Waccamaw Killifish, see it pass?
Largescale Stone roller.
Bass.
Bass.
Bass.

Okay, I guess we aren't fish people so maybe that explains why we didn't care much for Trout, Trout, Trout.

My children (boy and girl; 4 and 6 when this was read and reviewed) were not gripped by the need to read this book again, nor to recite any of the words--something they typically do with anything that rhymes.

Considerations:::
Trip Park's artwork is wonderful and humorous, but to get your money's worth with this one I think you have to be into fishing more than normal people. My recommendation would be to check this one out at the library first. It might be that adult fisherman (and women) would enjoy it.

The Accelerated Reading Level a generic "2".

Pam T~
mom and reviewer for BooksforKids-reviews ( )

Presents a rhyme and information about a variety of freshwater fish found in North America north of Mexico. ( )