Author Deborah Diesen
Illustrator Dan Hanna
Children’s librarians are an asset to any book search. Amber, the outreach librarian at Sheppard Library, recommended The Pout-Pout Fish. I have to admit I would never have guessed, based on the title, that this book would meet my big-word and fun-to-read goals. But Amber knows good books.

Reading this book is so fun! The title character is that miserable, moaning person we all know. Giving voice to such challenging behavior through a cartoon fish allows mockery without meanness.  Be careful, though, kids are perceptive and often know just the person you have in mind as you turn on your Pout-Pout voice. As the whiny fish swims through the ocean, spreading gloom, he meets cheerful sea creatures. Each well-described friend shows up for one page, so read-alouders can be flamboyantly playful with voices, knowing we don’t have to remember and replicate them for return appearances of the characters.

Thankfully, the helpless Pout-Pout fish finds reason to smile and abandon his petulance, providing parents talking points about resilience, resourcefulness, and purposefulness. It could be a useful tool when talking about whining.

In addition to rare words, fun reading, and meaningful message, The Pout-Pout Fish presents the figurative phrase, ‘pearl of advice’. Figurative language is the foundation of humor and is fun to explain and enjoy with kids. The rhyming text is repetitive, and the illustrations are bright and bold, so it’s good for all ages. Start early. Read often.

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