Sophie's Fish
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
What naptime story would you read to a fish? When Sophie asks Jake to take care of her pet fish while she's on vacation, he says sure—how hard can it be to babysit a fish? But the minute he agrees, Jake starts imagining every possible fish-related crisis. What does a fish eat for dinner? How do you give him a bath? What kind of stories does he like? Pitch-perfect humor and wonderfully detailed, quirky illustrations make this a refreshingly funny and imaginative picture book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jake, a redheaded, bespectacled geek in short pants sort of a young Woody Allen wrings his hands over the prospect of taking care of his friend Sophie's goldfish. "What if Yo-Yo gets hungry and wants a snack?" he worries. "What kind of snacks do fish like to eat?" White's (Druscilla's Halloween) loopy ink, watercolor, and collage spreads dive deep into Jake's psyche, showing him offering a slice of Strawberry Worm Cake to the fish, who lounges in a chair in a formal suit and bowtie. Cannon (A Crazy Day at the Critter Caf ) pursues the boy's concerns to their inevitably calamitous end, which has him envisioning the fish sobbing as it awaits Sophie's return. A deftly executed sequence of panel illustrations provides genuine suspense as Jake plans to refuse the fish and awaits Sophie's arrival with widened eyes. In White's gentle idiom, there's nothing frightening about Jake's worries; they draw sympathy for him and, by extension, for any kid who expects the worst. And sometimes, as the gag ending suggests, it's good to be prepared. Ages 3 5.
