The Pout-Pout Fish

by Deborah Diesen, Dan Hanna (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Deborah Diesen and Daniel Hanna have created an iconic character in the pout-pout fish who continues to delight children of all ages. It’s not easy looking grumpy all the time, and the pout-pout fish’s friends are finally getting to the bottom of why their scaly friend is always pouting.

The pout-pout fish believes he only knows how to frown, even though many of his friends suggest ways to change his expression, until one day a fish comes along that shows him otherwise.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374360962
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	03/18/2008
Series:	Pout-Pout Fish Adventure Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.38(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Deborah Diesen has worked as a bookseller, bookkeeper, and reference librarian. Her first book, The Pout-Pout Fish, was a New York Times bestseller and one of Time magazine’s Top 10 Children’s Books of the Year. She lives in Michigan with her family.

Dan Hanna has over ten years’ experience in the animation industry, and his work has appeared on BBC America and the Cartoon Network. He lives in Camarillo, California.

Editorial Reviews

Younger kids will love the repetition of the verses in this tale of a pout-pout fish.” —TIME magazine, from its Top 10 Childrens' Books of 2008 List

“Winning artwork...Hanna's cartoonish undersea world swims with hilarious bug-eyed creatures that ooze personality” —Kirkus Reviews

“Appealing...the cartoon illustrations of undersea life are bright and clean and the protagonist's exaggerated expressions are entertaining.” —School Library Journal

“Diesen's clever rhymes are playful and fun and are sure to keep children's imaginations swimming from page to page.” —Times Record News

From the Publisher

The pout-pout fish, painted a suitable blue, is so named for his perpetual gloom: "I'm a pout-pout fish / With a pout-pout face, / So I spread the dreary-wearies / All over the place." When a jellyfish complains about his "daily scaly scowl," the glum fish agrees, but says his mood isn't up to him. A squid, dubbing the fish "a kaleidoscope of mope," receives the same defeatist answer, as do other sea creatures. Up to this point, the story is refreshing in that readers will no doubt recognize the pout-pout fish in their own lives, and in many cases, there's just no cheering these people up. But the plot takes a rather unpalatable turn when a shimmery girl fish kisses the gloomster right on his pouty mouth. With that kiss, he transforms into the "kiss-kiss fish" and swims around "spreading cheery-cheeries all over the place," meaning that he starts to smooch every creature in sight. (Don't try this at school, kids, you'll get suspended!) Still, there's plenty of charm here, both in the playful language ("hulky-bulky sulking!") and in the winning artwork-Hanna's cartoonish undersea world swims with hilarious bug-eyed creatures that ooze personality. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews