The Strangest Fish

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The Strangest Fish

eBook(NOOK Kids)

$11.99

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eBook(NOOK Kids)
$11.99

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Overview

Hicklebee's Picture Book of the Year 2024
A Kids Indie Next List Pick – American Booksellers Association

In this bewitching picture book debut from bestselling fantasy author Katherine Arden, a girl wins an odd-looking goldfish at a county fair that ends up being secretly magical.

When Daisy wins a funny-looking goldfish at a fair, she ignores the mean comments about its appearance. She doesn’t mind the dull scales and lumpy head—in fact, she thinks her goldfish is the prettiest thing in the world. However, as Daisy continues caring for the goldfish, something strange starts happening to it . . .

With lyrical writing and stunning illustrations, this enchanting story about a girl and her goldfish reveals—with a touch of magic— the transformative power of unconditional love and care.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662620775
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	09/03/2024
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katherine Arden is the NYT-bestselling author of the Winternight Trilogy
and the middle-grade series Small Spaces. She won the 2020 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award and was a finalist for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Series. She graduated from Middlebury College in 2011, where she obtained her degree in Russian and French.

Zahra Marwan is a children’s book author-illustrator and the 2022 recipient of the Dilys Evans Founder's Award. Her first picture book, Where Butterflies Fill the Sky, was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2022 and a NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Book. Originally from Kuwait, Zahra now lives in New Mexico.

From the B&N Reads Blog

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Editorial Reviews

06/10/2024
When Daisy’s family attends the fair she loves, held during her favorite month—October—Daisy’s sister Mary wins a stuffed koala and brother Benjy earns a whistle. Daisy, meanwhile, garners a peculiar fish in a plastic bag, with “too many fins and scales like leaves, a head too big for his tail.” Digitally finished pen, ink, and watercolor spreads by Marwan (Where Butterflies Fill the Sky) have a dreamy, Kandinsky-esque feel, with bright reds fading into pinks and greens, lavenders and mauves. Mary calls the fish weird, but Daisy doesn’t mention her own jealousy of Mary’s koala. “Don’t worry,” she tells the fish, whom she calls October. “You are the best fish.” But October rapidly outgrows one glass bowl, then a larger one. He’s soon in the bathtub, and Daisy has to find another, better place for her charge. Daisy is faithful to her unprepossessing prize, and Arden (the Small Spaces series), making a picture book debut, fittingly rewards this loyalty throughout an unexpected series of events that focuses on bonds and transformations established through tending. The family is portrayed with light brown skin; background characters are shown with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List

★ "Arden’s lyrical, conversational text emphasizes the strong bond between Daisy and her new pet despite their limited time together; she makes clear that caring for another living being can alter us forever. With thick brushstrokes and a cool palette dominated by blues and browns, Marwan’s stunning pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations capture this unconditional nurturing bond, the concept of metamorphosis, and the transformative nature of autumn...A deeply empathetic look at the magic of love and compassion." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Fantastical and beautiful. The Strangest Fish is an excellent book about friendship. Daisy wins October, the strangest fish, at the fair and tries her best to take care of them. A book you will want to read over and over.”—Michelle Weiler, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

"Digitally finished pen, ink, and watercolor spreads by Marwan...have a dreamy, Kandinsky-esque feel, with bright reds fading into pinks and greens, lavenders and mauves...Daisy is faithful to her unprepossessing prize, and Arden...fittingly rewards this loyalty throughout an unexpected series of events that focuses on bonds and transformations established through tending." —Publishers Weekly

“In Arden’s lyrical picture book debut, Marwan’s blending of watercolors captures the cozy autumn fair ambiance and the unwavering bond between a girl and her new pet…The double-page spreads of the lake foreshadow the mystery behind October, as Daisy—and young readers—are in for a big surprise in this compassionate read about the power of imagination and finding the magic of friendships in their everyday lives.” –Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This debut picture book from popular novelist Arden incants a spell of weird individuality and wonder… Both Arden's text and Marwan's whimsical watercolors intrigue.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

Narrator Fareeda Pasha captures this atmospheric story with her gravelly voice and crisp tone. Daisy's favorite time of year is October because of the changing of the season and all that it brings, including the fair. At the fair, Daisy wins a fish. Her fish is a bit odd, though. It looks like a pile of leaves with all its colors, and it has large blue eyes. Pasha skillfully alters her tone from excitement to uncertainty, vividly communicating Daisy's family's concern when she brings it home. Sure enough, Daisy's fish grows too large to contain in just a few days. Pasha continues to skillfully alter her pacing and tone, effectively conveying Daisy's feelings as they shift from doubt to affection, worry, and finally awe. S.K.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2024 - AudioFile

★ 2024-05-31
In novelist Arden’s picture-book debut, a bizarre-looking fish has an unforgettable impact on a young girl.
October is Daisy’s favorite time of the year; she loves “cider and pumpkins, wet leaves and woodsmoke, and most importantly, the fair.” This year, she wins an odd prize at a fishing booth: an aquatic creature with “too many fins and scales like leaves” and “a head too big for his tail.” Her family dubs him “weird,” but after bringing him home in a bag of water, Daisy instantly bonds with him and names him after her favorite month. By the next morning, October has grown rapidly, prompting Daisy to move him to the bathtub, which still isn’t big enough. October fixes Daisy with a sad, piercing blue-eyed stare, so she moves him to the lake in front of her house, where he’s free to live his best life as the magical water dragon he is. Arden’s lyrical, conversational text emphasizes the strong bond between Daisy and her new pet despite their limited time together; she makes clear that caring for another living being can alter us forever. With thick brushstrokes and a cool palette dominated by blues and browns, Marwan’s stunning pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations capture this unconditional nurturing bond, the concept of metamorphosis, and the transformative nature of autumn. Daisy and her family are tan-skinned.
A deeply empathetic look at the magic of love and compassion.(Picture book. 4-7)

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