The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Fish

by LeGrand Henderson

A boy wants to be a fish rather than get ice cream for his birthday.

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Le Grand Henderson (1901–1964), most often writing under the nom de plume "Le Grand", was a writer and illustrator of books for all ages.

Le Grand was born in 1901 in Torrington, Connecticut. He attended the Yale School of Fine Arts for four years. After graduation, he headed for New York City. He found work designing heating and ventilating equipment, switchboards for submarines, and window and interior displays for Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

He soon tired of living in the city. He then went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he began a yearlong journey on a houseboat down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. The Augustus series of books takes place along the Mississippi, based on this trip down the river.

Le Grand is best known for his folklore series (9 books, including Cap'n Dow and the Hole in the Doughnut and Cats for Kansas) for children 4 - 8. The story of "Cap'n Dow and the Hole in the Doughnut" is said to have been written while he personally served as one of the crew of a down-East schooner off the coast of Maine, where men are sailors and doughnuts are doughnuts. He is also known for his Augustus series (12 books) depicting the country-wide adventures of a "Huck Finn"-type lad, for children 8 - 12. Overall, he wrote over 30 books between 1937 and 1940.

He died in 1964.

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Boy Who Wanted to be A Fish is one of my favorite children's stories from when I was a small child. It was my mother's favorite too as a child and she read it to me from her copy. Later when my brother was little I read it to him. Anyway, the story came up in a conversation with Sean and he was so taken in with my description of it that I had to get a copy for our library. It's times like this that I adore the internet.

Amby is having his birthday and his mother tells him he can have anything he wants. In true little kid logic, he says he wants to be a fish. His mother not able to give him that wish, pawns the now grumpy Amby off on his big sister, telling her to take him to the drug store to get two ice cream cones. When Amby refuses to go because fish don't walk, they swim, big sister dumps him into a wagon and pulls Amby along to the drug store.

Along the way the siblings meet up with a number of grown ups all saying sensible things about how Amby can't possibly be a fish and so forth. All their well meaning just makes the birthday boy angrier and more determined to become a fish on his birthday. Ultimately though, Mr. Buzzle the druggist has the perfect solution to Amby's wish.

I don't want to give away the ending in case you happen to find a copy. There are a couple on Amazon and a few more on Alibris. It is well worth the effort to get a copy. I can say that both Sean and Harriet loved the book.

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun children's story about a boy is rather a brat and says he wants to be a fish. I do feel sorry for Susie, his sister, who puts up with his antics and rudeness. I'm glad Mr. Buzzle taught Amby a good lesson at the end.