Fish Wish

by Bob Barner

The world of a coral reef. Diorama.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Bob Barner has been drawing since he was three years old. He graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design, then moved to Boston where he was an art director at several advertising agencies and design studios. He was hired to help comic strip creator Al Capp draw Li'l Abner and studied with Milton Glaser at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He lives with his wife, Cathie, in San Francisco, California, where, in 2004, he was honored as a San Francisco Library Laureate.

Reviews

[Alexander The Triumphant · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book there was fishes and there was an octopus and there was a squid fish and there was a person who talked about all the fishes and the jellyfish and the octopusses. I liked this book because there's fish. -by Alexander

[Maliha Arman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun way to introduce sea animals to your classroom. The children will have the opportunity to increase their imagination as to what it would feel like to swim and live under water. The teacher would be able to use this book when talking about the animals in the sea; as well as comparing and contrasting animals that live under the sea and those that don't. The illustrations in this book create a warm and inviting feel to the reader.

[Rachel Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very simple and fun book with beautiful illustrations. It is good for younger children to see and learn about what animals live in the oceans. I would use this in my classroom for any ocean unit to introduce certain words.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the pictures in this book! It is also great that the book introduces real ocean words like anemone. There isn't much text in this one.

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and easy to read. Perfect for storytime

[Scott Cahalan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book to teach children about life in the sea.

[Jerrica Hlavaty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read with two boys age 2.5 and 3.5. Neither one was interested until the end. The back page had a fun little shape hunt and that was all that grabbed their attention.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My lil water baby loved this one

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t remember the plot of this book too well, but I don’t think that was its main goal anyway. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and clear, and my child loved finding the fish on each page.

[Miss Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discover all the creatures that live in the coral reef.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about fish. It is very colorful.

[DeA · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice colorful book about a boy who wishes he was a fish.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I hadn't seen that this book's publication date was 2000, I would have thought it was trying to play off the "Finding Nemo" craze. But it didn't. This will be a good toddler book if we do some of the animal actions and sounds along with it. I just have to refrain from the initial reactions (Nemo quotes) I had with each page as I read it to myself.

4/13/10 & 4/15/10 I can't believe how well this book came off. I did the sounds and actions, and the parents were so good in doing both with their children. And the Tuesday group was really awesome--helped make my best storytime, yet! Only one time did I hear someone call out "Nemo!" So, not bad.

[Vivian]

Barner serves up a bold and bright introduction to life found in a coral reef. Featured in our library "Starfish Stuff Story Time", children were invited to mimic the featured creatures--

swim like dolphins -- keeping arms by sides with hands out as fins and swaying a bit.
glide like turtles -- breast-stroking motions with arms
zip like an octopus through squid ink -- waving arms about
dive down deep -- pretend to dive
float like jellyfish -- bend over and limply dangle arms
dress like a hermit crab -- pretend to put on a shell, or snap claws
tuck into an anemone -- rest head on "pillow" hands
count star fish -- blink hands here and there open and shut, open and...

[Cemeread · Rating 3 out of 5]

2's With one sentence per spread this is a good choice for two year olds who aren't ready to sit still for long. This book is colorful and introduces some ocean animals. No facts are given other than where the clown fish lives and sleeps, but end pages name all the creatures in the final picture, give a short paragraph of information on each of the named animals in the story and explain a coral reef. So there is opportunity to add some learning to the story for curious minds.

A good paring mind be Clown Fish, a non-fiction book by Carol Lindeen, which is also short and has photographs.

[Inna Nako · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade K-1, Grouping animals according to physical attributes (where it lives)

-very easy book for younger grades, short sentences
-all about animals in the ocean-- can be used to introduce a topic on ocean animals (such as dolphins, coral reefs, sea turtles, squid)
-i like this book because at the end of it, it includes a large picture with numbered animals that correspond with the picture
-it also has a glossary type page describing different animals and their characteristics

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not much of an artist, so would give this less stars considering the art element of the book, but otherwise the story was good and I really liked the educational information at the end, especially the list and outlines of the different fish in the ocean. Held the attention of my 3 year old very well.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a simple book about a boy imagining himself a fish swimming in the ocean. I like the simple text of this book, but I don't think its simple so it would be good for babies or toddlers. I think its for beginning readers. Still I would use it with baby/toddlers because of the bright pictures and the poetic prose (although it doesn't rhyme).

[Joann Aubain · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very simple book where a boy imagines he's a fish and explores the different things and creatures of the sea. Not very engaging in my opinion. Colorful none the less, however I would recommend this read for toddlers maybe.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out of the library last week.

This was a fun, sweet book, with loads of color-saturated illustrations. It was pretty simple and basic, in an accessible way, not in a boring way.


Actual rating: 3.5 stars, but I round up.

[Kristie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curvy, simple text. Colorful pictures.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright bold illustrations put you in the coral reef with a fish-eye's view. My ocean fans loved it.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a colorful and imaginative children's book about animals in the ocean! Bold, bright illustrations are a plus.

[Liliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to learn about different sea life creatures. This book can also be related to Finding Nemo. This book also contains an alliteration "dive down deep."

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice picture book to show animals around a coral reef. Big and simple pictures. Good for toddler/preschool

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves this book. Bright and beautiful pictures.

[Leyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, great colors, simple words, but deep message. We stopped to make a thorough study of the glossary at the end. Added value!

[Mail2bessyyahoo.com · Rating 2 out of 5]

i could not open the book.how do I read/

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for toddlers or Preschool children.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple and sweet with bright colorful pictures this would work great for any age group learning about the ocean.