Sea Monster and the Bossy Fish

PreS-Gr 2—There's a new fish in Sea Monster's school, and he's boorish, bossy, and a braggart. Nevertheless, Sea Monster is kind and friendly, and gives him a tour. First up is the music room, where the choir is singing, "The eels on the bus…." Then, it's on to the cafeteria and the library, which is stocked with such titles as The World According to Carp and Make Way for Minnows. Bossy Fish is pretty much unimpressed by what he sees because his former school was way cooler. In P.E., he declares himself the slam-dunk champ, and he is much too much of a critic in art class. He gives his new classmates insulting nicknames, and he declares himself president of his Fresh Fish Club. Everyone gets shades so that they too can look cool, although he doesn't allow some "old and stodgy looking" fish to join. Sea Monster then decides to create a club devoted to doing good deeds, and everyone is welcome. Bossy Fish almost upends that as well when he decides he'd make a great president, but Sea Monster thinks quickly and appoints him the drummer of the school band. "When everybody plays,/it's way more fun./So the Friend Fish team's for everyone!" The message is nice but a little heavy-handed. The bad puns are likely to go over children's heads, and adults will groan. Nevertheless, Rash's gouache and India ink illustrations are humorous and are drawn in a fashion resembling Saturday-morning cartoons. For general or supplemental purchase.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA