Friday, March 24, 2017

Fish Girl by David Wiesner and Donna Jo Napoli – ESSENTIAL

Wiesner, David and Napoli, Donna Jo Fish Girl 185 pgs. Clarion, 2017. $25.00 Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G GRAPHIC NOVEL.
Fish Girl is a young mermaid living in a boardwalk aquarium. “Neptune” has rescued her from the sea and keeps her safe in the aquarium, along with many other sea creatures. Her job is to flit through the scenes, giving people just a tiny hope they saw a mermaid and to collect the coins tourists throw in. Her only friend is Octopus. But one day a girl her age comes through and Fish Girl is spotted by her. Gradually they become friends, although Fish Girl can’t speak. The girl even gives her a name, Mira. Mira starts to see her home in a new way and gradually explores her environment and discovers that her god and her home are not what she thought, and there is a big and scary world to explore.
If you assumed the artwork would be great, given that David Wiesner was the illustrator, you would be correct, its just fantastic. Its extra large pages are filled with stunning artwork. The story itself is one of questioning the world around you, being curious, and friendship. I loved this graphic novel and I think student readers who are mermaid fans will as well. It is definitely a novel and is quite long, best for 4th grade and up.

EL –ESSENTIAL  Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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