Our Favorite Fictional Fish

This Is Not My Hat, by Jon Klassen
While we certainly don’t condone hat theft, we do have a soft spot in our hearts for the little gray fish narrating Jon Klassen’s funny picture book. As the title states, he knows very well that the tiny blue bowler hat on his head isn’t his. And he does plenty of rationalizing about why it was OK for him to take it from its slumbering owner—”It was too small for him anyway. It fits me just right.” Besides, the big fish to whom the hat really belongs would never find him, right?! We admire the little guy’s gumption and confidence, even though—spoiler alert—he’s not the one wearing the hat by the book’s final pages.

Goldfish Ghost, by Lemony Snicket and Lisa Brown
In his classically twisted style, Lemony Snicket opens the story of Goldfish Ghost at the end of the main character’s earthly life. On page one, we meet the little white fishy apparition floating upside down: “Goldfish Ghost was born on the surface of the water in a bowl on the dresser in a boy’s room.” And, as it turns out, even ghosts of pets past are in search of their forever homes. Goldfish Ghost floats completely unnoticed out of the room, over the town, and past the pier in search of a friend. He ultimately finds the perfect company—just as readers will with this quirky tale.

The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister
With his striking blue, green, purple, and sparkling silver scales, Rainbow Fish is the most beautiful fish in the ocean. His sea-dwelling admirers want to play with him, but the proud Rainbow Fish just swims on past them. One day, a little blue fish asks the Rainbow Fish for one of his sparkly scales, and the Rainbow Fish refuses—only to soon realize that not only does he have no friends, but he also now has no admirers. But this vain little fish carries an important message for readers: Once he becomes willing to share his scales with others, he discovers that friends are more important than beauty and possessions.

The Pout-Pout Fish, by Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna
The poor little Pout-Pout Fish feels stuck: “I’m a pout-pout fish with a pout-pout face. So I spread the dreary-wearies all over the place. Blub. Bluuuub. Bluuuuub.” Other fish try to get him to cheer up, but he feels like his face has doomed him to a life of pouting. Ah, but what this big-eyed guy with the turned-down mouth needs is a new lens through which to see himself. And that’s precisely what he gets when another fish swims along and plants a kiss upon his pout: “I’m a kiss-kiss fish with a kiss-kiss face for spreading cheery-cheeries all over the place!”

Swimmy (50th Anniversary Edition), by Leo Lionni
There’s so much to love about Little Swimmy. He doesn’t look like other fish of his kind in this Leo Lionni classic—he is a black fish, and the rest of the fish in his little school are all red. But he also has something else they don’t have—bravery and a sense of adventure. Detailed with Lionni’s simple poetic language and colorful artwork, Swimmy’s oceanic adventures show him all the beauty and weirdness life underwater has to offer. And he’s then able to teach the other little fish how to be more like him—not controlled by a fear of the unknown.

The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss bestowed many memorable fish upon readers with tales like One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and McElligot’s Pool. But there’s something about the bowl-dwelling fish in The Cat in the Hat that sets this finned-one apart from the rest. Perhaps it’s that he’s the only voice of reason in this zany tale of a mischievous cat with some big plans for Dick and Sally on a rainy afternoon when their mother is out. This practical fishy just wants to keep things neat and tidy and not let this (super-fun) troublemaking cat into their home. But he doesn’t quite get his way as nuttiness ensues—and don’t forget about Thing 1 and Thing 2!