Author Deborah Diesen and Illustrator Dan Hanna continue the adventures of Pout-Pout Fish, who must overcome his fear of the dark: "friends help friends-That's a promise we keep."

When Ms. Clam's pearl is whooshed away when she yawns, Pout-Pout Fish promises to get it back for her...but that means venturing deep down onto the ocean floor.

"I'm fast as a sailfish, I'm strong as a shark, I'm smart as a dolphin, but I'm scared of the dark."

Miss Shimmer encourages him, and a lantern fish illuminates the lost pearl for them to retrieve. ( )

Mr. Fish wanted to help his dear friend Ms. Clam. She dropped her pearl and Mr. Fish said it is a promise i will keep to find your pearl. Well Mr. Fish swam and swam, but no pearl in sight. Put he kept hearing voices that it is beyond the reef and further out to sea. So he swam deeper out to sea and said "I'm fast as a sailfish, I'm strong as a shark, I'm smart as a dolphin, But i'm scared of the dark." He kept searching, but still something to be found. Then he heard another voice "it's beyond the slope!" As he swam further out to sea he remind himself "I'm fast as a sailfish, I'm strong as a shark, I'm smart as a dolphin, But i'm scared of the dark." Eventually Mr. Fish got so far into the dark that it was pitch black. Miss Shimmer heard Mr. Fish being afraid of the dark and so she told him "Two are bigger than the dark" then they swam together and found Ms. Clam's pearl. They got back to Ms. Clam and everyone cheered! Mr. Fish realized that with other people they are always bigger than the dark.

I would use this book in Kindergarten up to 2nd grade since it has some life stories about how we don't have to be afraid and sometimes friends or family make it easier for us to not be afraid. This book focuses a lot on rhyming words and CVC or CVVC words. There is also a lot of word families that would be beneficial to discuss with the students.

When Ms. Clam loses her pearl while yawning, Mr. Fish gallantly promises to retrieve it, diving deeper and deeper into the ocean to do so. Although he maintains in his refrain that he is as fast as a sailfish, and as strong as a shark, the truth is that he is afraid of the dark. Fortunately for him, there is a voice urging him onward, and eventually he is joined in his quest by his friend, Miss Shimmer.

Like its predecessor, The Pout-Pout Fish, this second picture-book devoted to the maritime adventures of Mr. Fish pairs an engaging sing-song narrative in rhyme with cute, colorful artwork. I really like illustrator Dan Hanna's color palette in these books, with the many shades of blue and purple on view. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first Pout-Pout Fish book, as well as to anyone looking for children's stories about being afraid of the dark. ( )

This book was definitely written for young children and is a fun and engaging book. There are a lot of reasons as to why I really enjoy reading this book. First, the structure of writing makes this a great read aloud for children, mainly because it rhymes. The rhyming makes the flow of the book smooth and the pace fast but organized enough to keep me engaged and have a sense of anticipation throughout the story. Also, considering there is vocabulary such as "drowsy", "dimmer","grimmer", etc. makes this a great book for read-alouds. Finally, another great reason this book is fun to read because of the writing is due to the use of onomatopoeia such as "current whoosh" and "whisked away his dread" etc. Another reason I enjoyed this story was because of the illustrations. In particular, as the story progressed and the pout-pout fish swam deeper in the ocean and became more scared, the illustrations became darker and darker until it the background was completely black. The pictures really enhance the suspense of the story and illustrate the emotions. Overall, the big idea from this book could be overcoming fears. Especially for young children, a common fear is the dark. So, for children to be able to connect to a book it might also be an enjoyable to read. ( )