Something’s Fishy

Like McCloskey’s We Dig Worms! and The Real Poop on Pigeons!, this overview of fish big and small (mostly small) takes an irreverent approach to its subject. Two elementary school age children serve as guides, sharing details about fish, but the hashtag #notallfish could easily apply: when the children explain that fish have scales and bones, and that they breathe through gills, these facts are quickly qualified. “Almost all fish!” squawks a green parrot that appears in most scenes. “The hagfish is a fish with no spine!” McCloskey’s artwork also reflects the book’s push-and-pull relationship between facts and fun: the featured fish are often painted in realistic detail (six opening pages offer an A to Z tour of 26 distinctive fish, including a true-to-its name footballfish, a glum-looking monkeyface prickleback, and a slightly nightmarish viperfish. The author also references the popularity of “the fish [people] see in cartoon movies” (a clown fish and blue tang pictured), with one of the children noting that the “common goldfish makes a better pet.” It’s an entertaining primer for families in the market for a pet fish. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)