LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
May 2025 Debut of the Month
It is hard to believe that this hilarious parody of an information text, is actually the author’s debut picturebook. An author who had the good luck to be paired with the best selling and Caldecott medal winning illustrator Dan Santat, who has taken a very funny text to even greater heights with his gloriously funny illustrations. These range from the hyper realistic images accompanying the definitions of mammals, reptiles and birds, to the imaginative absurdity of the giant fish robots invading the beach as fish attempt world domination.
This is a delightfully absurd mix of fact and fiction - there are genuine scientific facts about animals and about the weird rule breaking fish. Some live in fresh water and some in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs etc. But then we are challenged to think about such ‘facts’ as that you can never see what fish are up to underwater and we know they hang about in schools, but we don’t know they learn there, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs.
When the opinionated ‘unreliable’ narrator is revealed at the end of the book, the story arc and the fish focused paranoia makes complete sense. The perfect laconic deadpan comic timing of the text just cries out to be read aloud – multiple times!
An absolute must have picture book that achieves the rare task of entertaining both children and adult readers alike.
Joy Court
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About
Don't Trust Fish! Synopsis
A laugh-out-loud picture book all about fish and how we absolutely must not trust them, illustrated by New York Times bestseller and Caldecott Medal-winning Dan Santat.
Have you ever noticed that fish spend all of their time under water? What are they plotting down there? And did you know that a group of fish is called a 'school'? Exactly what are they learning in these 'schools'? We must find answers. But one thing's for sure. Whatever you do: Don't. Trust. Fish.
Laugh along as you learn lots of fishy facts from a very suspicious narrator, who believes that there's something more than a bit fishy about fish…
Prepare to laugh, learn, and maybe even look at your pet goldfish a little differently.
With deadpan humour from celebrated Irish author and playwright Neil Sharpson that will be loved by children and grown-ups alike, perfect for fans of Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back and B. J. Novak's The Book with No Pictures.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781839136429 |
| Publication date: |
3rd April 2025 |
| Author: |
Neil Sharpson |
| Illustrator: |
Dan Santat |
| Publisher: |
Andersen Press an imprint of Andersen Press Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
40 pages |
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Author
About Neil Sharpson
Neil Sharpson is an Irish author and playwright, who has written for theatre since his teens. He transitioned to writing novels in 2017, adapting his own play The Caspian Sea into When the Sparrow Falls. A huge fan of animation, Neil writes the comedic review blog Unshaved Mouse, focusing on animated film and comic book movies. He is a graduate of the Abbey Theatre's New Playwright's Programme, and was shortlisted for the Maguire International Playwrighting Award. Don't Trust Fish is his debut picture book. Neil lives in Dublin with his wife and their two children.
More About Neil Sharpson
