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Fish Finelli #2
Operation Fireball
When Bryce Billings says he will clobber Fish Finelli in the Captain Kidd Classic boat race, Fish has no choice but to accept the bet. But Fish's 1970s Whaler with a broken motor is no match for Bryce's new, top-of-the-line, 9.9-horsepower Viper—even if Fish, Roger, and T. J. can fix their measly 5-horsepower motor, it can't compete with Bryce's boat. With $9.63 between them, do the guys even have a chance at the Classic? A hilarious romp, filled with fun facts seamlessly integrated into the story, Fish Finelli informs as much as it entertains for perfect middle-grade reading.
171 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2014
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253 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 15, 2017
My son and I loved reading this second book of the series together. We both guffaw often turning pages and wishing we had endless hours to read each night. There are plot twists (love the look on the kiddos face) and great examples of opportunity for kindness in the face of others being unkind. Highly recommending for early elementary (1-3rd grade) age kids.
March 19, 2014
There's a lot to like about Fish Finelli. It's wholesome without being too good. It's funny, and filled with interested scientific and historical facts. The villain is not just a one-dimensional bully, and though you definitely root against him, you find yourself feeling sorry for him as well. And most of all, there's Fish, a smart, resourceful and funny kid and a likable hero.
So here's what I don't like about this installment of Fish Finelli. Girls. For a female author, the representation of girls in this book is lamentable at best, primarily with the new character of Clementine. As dimensional and interesting as Fish and his friends are, Clementine is flat as a pancake. Her appearance feels forced, and she doesn't have much personality. A "twist" ending does a little to spice her up, but when it comes to a bruhaha over who gets to dance with her in the end? The girl is speechless. Literally. Two boys are fighting over who gets to dance with her and the girl gets no say in the matter. In fact, she doesn't even speak again in the rest of the book. It's like she was never there.
I appreciate female characters in male-driven books, just as I would appreciate any gender neutral publishing, but you've got to do better than that. Throwing in a pretty girl without a voice is not helping anyone.
That being said, I'm still ordering this for the library, because the first book was devoured, and with Summer Reading of Science upon us, these books will fit right in.
So here's what I don't like about this installment of Fish Finelli. Girls. For a female author, the representation of girls in this book is lamentable at best, primarily with the new character of Clementine. As dimensional and interesting as Fish and his friends are, Clementine is flat as a pancake. Her appearance feels forced, and she doesn't have much personality. A "twist" ending does a little to spice her up, but when it comes to a bruhaha over who gets to dance with her in the end? The girl is speechless. Literally. Two boys are fighting over who gets to dance with her and the girl gets no say in the matter. In fact, she doesn't even speak again in the rest of the book. It's like she was never there.
I appreciate female characters in male-driven books, just as I would appreciate any gender neutral publishing, but you've got to do better than that. Throwing in a pretty girl without a voice is not helping anyone.
That being said, I'm still ordering this for the library, because the first book was devoured, and with Summer Reading of Science upon us, these books will fit right in.
November 4, 2014
Fish Finelli is excited. He has a boat and a motor, now all he has to do it get it working in time to enter the big race in the 11-years-and under category. And the stakes are high since he pretty much promised to beat the annoying Bryce Billings. Then there’s this girl, Clementine, pretty and mysterious. Fish Finelli: Operation Fireball is the second in this great series for boys that girls can enjoy too.
Fish and his friends Roger and T.J. do pretty much everything together, and together they can make anything fun, including rescuing a cat from a tree and waiting out a thunderstorm on a creepy island. Together they prove that a bit of ingenuity, hard work and sticking to the rules of a good sea captain will get them through just about anything.
Kids should also be interested in the small facts sprinkled throughout the book. For instance, Fish really likes tinkering with things and he likes inventors who did too. When he quotes Thomas Edison, who invented the phonograph, a pull0out illustration gives information about Edison and his invention. Jason Beene’s drawings illustrate the narrative perfectly, adding a touch of whimsy to the words on the page.
I recommend Fish Finelli: Operation Fireball for readers aged 8 to 12.
The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Fish and his friends Roger and T.J. do pretty much everything together, and together they can make anything fun, including rescuing a cat from a tree and waiting out a thunderstorm on a creepy island. Together they prove that a bit of ingenuity, hard work and sticking to the rules of a good sea captain will get them through just about anything.
Kids should also be interested in the small facts sprinkled throughout the book. For instance, Fish really likes tinkering with things and he likes inventors who did too. When he quotes Thomas Edison, who invented the phonograph, a pull0out illustration gives information about Edison and his invention. Jason Beene’s drawings illustrate the narrative perfectly, adding a touch of whimsy to the words on the page.
I recommend Fish Finelli: Operation Fireball for readers aged 8 to 12.
The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
November 10, 2014
An early chapter book, Operation Fireball, Fish Finelli #2, by Erica Farber is a great book to teach young children about materialistic things. The book starts off with Norman (Fish), T.J., and Roger working on a motor. Fish has an old motor on his boat that doesn't make it go so fast. Bryce, someone who is very wealthy and has a lot of money, challenges Fish to race him in the Captain Kidd race. Fish is a confident kid, he believes that his boat can still beat Bryce. He even spends so much time rebuilding the motor in time for the race. This book not only has facts of it's own throughout the pages, but it also shows children to be the bigger person when it comes to bullying. Regardless if Fish wins the race or not, he learns valuable things along the way about friendship, honesty, and confidence.
5 Higher Level Thinking Questions-
1) Would you be like Fish and help the other opponents, even if it meant you might lose?
2) Have you ever had someone in your life who is a bully like Bryce?
3) Who was your favorite character in this book, and why?
4) How can you relate to Fish with his talent and knowledge of boats? What are you knowledgeable and talented at?
5) Think of a scene in the book and describe what you would have done differently in that characters shoes.
Farber, E., & Beene, J. (2014). Operation Fireball. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books.
5 Higher Level Thinking Questions-
1) Would you be like Fish and help the other opponents, even if it meant you might lose?
2) Have you ever had someone in your life who is a bully like Bryce?
3) Who was your favorite character in this book, and why?
4) How can you relate to Fish with his talent and knowledge of boats? What are you knowledgeable and talented at?
5) Think of a scene in the book and describe what you would have done differently in that characters shoes.
Farber, E., & Beene, J. (2014). Operation Fireball. San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books.
August 6, 2014
Fish Finelli and his friends have to beat the school bully, Bryce Billings, in a boat race, due to a dare made at the end of book one. There is just one problem – that Bryce has a new boat with a 9.9 horsepower (which is the limit for the race) and Fish and his friends have an old whaler with a 5 horsepower motor. Will they beat Bryce?
This was a fun book. I didn’t read book 1, but Ms. Farber brings the reader right up to speed so I totally understood the back-story (As a note, I love it when an author recaps the previous book(s) in a series really well). Fish is a great character, and I like how he solves his own problems. He is also devoted to sailing and I enjoyed reading about a kid who likes to sail. Ms. Farber has an enjoyable writing style. I love all of the humor she put in the story. I really enjoyed the little fact boxes and diagrams about things in the book. That was a nice touch. The illustrations scattered in the book were great too. They had a very cool style. After reading this book, I’m going to go back and read the first one in the series. I like a good story. :) This book is a great read for young advanced readers, reluctant readers and kids looking for a fun story!
*NOTE I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This was a fun book. I didn’t read book 1, but Ms. Farber brings the reader right up to speed so I totally understood the back-story (As a note, I love it when an author recaps the previous book(s) in a series really well). Fish is a great character, and I like how he solves his own problems. He is also devoted to sailing and I enjoyed reading about a kid who likes to sail. Ms. Farber has an enjoyable writing style. I love all of the humor she put in the story. I really enjoyed the little fact boxes and diagrams about things in the book. That was a nice touch. The illustrations scattered in the book were great too. They had a very cool style. After reading this book, I’m going to go back and read the first one in the series. I like a good story. :) This book is a great read for young advanced readers, reluctant readers and kids looking for a fun story!
*NOTE I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
August 10, 2016
Won a copy from Good Reads First Reads
My 10 year old son read this as part of his weekly reading challenge for school.
He loved it!! My husband & I thought it was a great book for a middle school aged boy. It has a bit of mystery, shenanigans, fun facts & some mischief. All the things little boys love. He absolutely loved reading the lines with "Champion Teeter-Totter of Blah-Bu-De-Blah". He got a big kick out of that line every time. At the end when we found out who the boat racer in the red hat was, well lets just say he was quite shocked & thought it was just awesome.
I as a parent thought it was just great!! It's so easy to find books about fairy princesses & girlie stuff, but a little harder to get good quality stories for boys. This book meet all the criteria to keep a boy interested. I loved that the story was about tinkering with motors & boats, digging around for clams & plain ol' little boy shenanigans. We all loved it. Will be looking for more books by E.S. Farber especially the first one in the series.
My 10 year old son read this as part of his weekly reading challenge for school.
He loved it!! My husband & I thought it was a great book for a middle school aged boy. It has a bit of mystery, shenanigans, fun facts & some mischief. All the things little boys love. He absolutely loved reading the lines with "Champion Teeter-Totter of Blah-Bu-De-Blah". He got a big kick out of that line every time. At the end when we found out who the boat racer in the red hat was, well lets just say he was quite shocked & thought it was just awesome.
I as a parent thought it was just great!! It's so easy to find books about fairy princesses & girlie stuff, but a little harder to get good quality stories for boys. This book meet all the criteria to keep a boy interested. I loved that the story was about tinkering with motors & boats, digging around for clams & plain ol' little boy shenanigans. We all loved it. Will be looking for more books by E.S. Farber especially the first one in the series.
January 1, 2016
My son's review is simple.
"it was a good book mom. Bryce is just stupid and not very nice. Fish has done all these nice things, and beaten him and everything and he should be NICE MOM. Fish was nice and it meant well.. I shouldn't tell you because then I'll be giving away the ending. Read this book it's good mom".
My Thoughts:
I haven't read the book but I have loved my son's reaction to it. He's been telling me all that is happening but his emotion regarding Bryce has been so fun to watch.... He's met a villain (not that Bryce is a true villain but he's a not very likable character). He liked how the book ended, he's liked the characters, Clementine surprised him but it was a good surprise. Jason Beene does a good job with the illustrations, the snippets of information in the sidebar my lad likes. Good book and we want the next in the series.
"it was a good book mom. Bryce is just stupid and not very nice. Fish has done all these nice things, and beaten him and everything and he should be NICE MOM. Fish was nice and it meant well.. I shouldn't tell you because then I'll be giving away the ending. Read this book it's good mom".
My Thoughts:
I haven't read the book but I have loved my son's reaction to it. He's been telling me all that is happening but his emotion regarding Bryce has been so fun to watch.... He's met a villain (not that Bryce is a true villain but he's a not very likable character). He liked how the book ended, he's liked the characters, Clementine surprised him but it was a good surprise. Jason Beene does a good job with the illustrations, the snippets of information in the sidebar my lad likes. Good book and we want the next in the series.
August 14, 2014
At first look, the cover grabs your attention and seeing the shovel and map you immediately know these boys are about to have some fun. It’s also very colorful. This story is about Fish, Roger, TJ, a bully named Bryce, Captain Kidd, well at least his legendary treasure, and their librarian, Mr. E. Mann (get it? Mystery man!) who appears to be looking for the same treasure. When the bully bets them $50 they can’t find it, they get busy trying to find the treasure to win.
“This is a historical document. It’s worth tons of money. It’s probably priceless.”
Read the full review at http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/b...
“This is a historical document. It’s worth tons of money. It’s probably priceless.”
Read the full review at http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/b...
August 26, 2014
Living by the ocean has its perks, and those who live in Fish Finelli's neighborhood year-round get to enjoy them all the time. Of course things change in the summer. Tourists arrive. Clams and oysters can be harvested. Then there's the big boat race... Fish and friends are desperate to win the race, but can their home-grown engine have a chance against the snobby rich kids? Fish finds himself tested, especially when it comes to helping out his competition. This is a lighthearted summer book with occasional black and white illustrations, making it a good choice for beginning chapter-book readers.
February 14, 2014
In this installment of a maritime-related series, Fish Finelli, the book's protagonist, is stuck with a less than adequate motor to power his beloved Fireball. With help from his friends and plenty of determination, Fish is able to give his arch rival, Bryce, a run for his money. there are plenty of funny moments in the story, and it was nice to see Fish doing the right thing when he had plenty of chances not to do so.
March 27, 2014
In the second title in the series, Fish Finelli is an individual kids will cheer for, especially when he accepts dares he shouldn't. Fish is a well rounded dynamic character, kind to his friends, but impulsive when tempted with a dare. Packed with facts about how motor boats work, and marine safety rules, boys who enjoy motor boating or a dynamic light adventure about teamwork, bullies, and summer fun on the water, will enjoy this fast paced humorous adventure.
September 7, 2014
I gave this book 3 stars because it is not my kind of book I like more action. I would recommend this book to some of my friends. The concept was good. I did not like how Clementine beat fish. I like it when the main character wins in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2015
loved it
I think this book was really good and when ever a good part happened I would not want to stop
I think this book was really good and when ever a good part happened I would not want to stop
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews