Diffy

by Brian Lies

An inquisitive angler fish named Diffy finds a life-changing object in this thoughtful ode to storytelling by Caldecott Honoree, Brian Lies. Diffy doesn't know what to make of the mysterious object that's landed on his favorite rock. When he starts to make up stories based on the curious images he uncovers, the other fish gather around to listen and then begin to share their own. But one day Diffy's amazing discovery disappears from the rock, and he worries that his stories might have left with it. But stories grow out of connections, and before long, Diffy's world blooms with a whole ocean of creatures. This picture book celebrates curiosity, imagination, and the transformative power that comes with the sharing of information, ideas, and storytelling.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction

40 pages, Library Binding

Published September 22, 2026

About the author

I was born in 1963 in Princeton, New Jersey, which back then was a quiet college town, surrounded by old farmland slowly giving way to housing developments. I spent a lot of time building dams and forts in the woods across the street with my best friend, inventing things, and writing and drawing with my older sister. At various times during my childhood, we had newts, gerbils and rabbits as pets. When I was in fifth grade, an author and illustrator visited my school, and I was amazed that one could have a job writing and drawing. I wished it could be my job! But I didn’t think I was good enough at either writing or drawing to even try.

I had always liked to draw, though, and kept doing it just for fun. During high school, I also painted with oil paints and made stained glass windows. I actually sold some, too—my first taste of self-employment. I went to Brown University after high school, where I studied Psychology and British and American Literature. I began to think about what I really wanted to do for a career, and what I really wanted was something that involved art. So after graduation from college in 1985, I moved to Boston to study drawing and painting at the Boston Museum School (also known as the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

At the Museum School, I started getting paintings in exhibitions and won a few prizes, and then was able to get political illustrations published in the Christian Science Monitor and the Boston Globe.

Suddenly I had a career as an editorial and political illustrator, working with a lot of magazines and newspapers. In 1989, I illustrated my first book, Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Missing Eye, with Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston.

Since then, I've illustrated some twenty books, including my newest one, Bats at the Library, which I also wrote. My other three written-and-illustrated books to date are the New York Times bestseller, Bats at the Beach, Hamlet and the Enormous Chinese Dragon Kite, and Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle.

I also get lots of work published in Cricket, Spider, Ladybug and Babybug magazines, and I enjoy visiting schools to work with students on writing and illustrating stories.

I live in a seaside town in Massachusetts with my wife, my daughter, two cats and a hamster. My hobbies are bicycling, woodworking, and tending a big vegetable garden behind the house. I’m very interested in old-fashioned food preparation, too, and sometimes make my own cheese, kimchi and other things (including a drink called switchel, which I kind of liked but which everybody else in my family thought was nasty).

I also read a lot, which I think is important—it keeps my imagination going, and leaves me feeling much more relaxed than television does!

Reviews

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I loved this one! A lonely fish discovers a dictionary and his underwater world and mind open up. The power of stories and connection.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diffy the deep sea angler fish is lonely. The fish in the sea don't really talk to each other. They all watch the detritus fall through to the ocean floor and keep to themselves. Until one day a thing lands on Diffy's ledge. It has interesting pictures and squiggles inside. Eventually Diffy understands that these objects exist outside of sea life and he begins to make up stories about them. He tells these stories to the other fish and those fish learn to tell their own stories. In the end, Diffy is no longer lonely as all the fish now talk to each other and tell each other their stories.

[Janet · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Creative story about a lonely fish living in the ocean who watches objects float by. One day an object lands in front of Diffy’s cave and patterns of objects are represented. Diffy begins to put the object patterns together and do “tells” about them to other ocean creatures. In all this creativity the analogy will satisfy book lovers.
Illustrations done in acrylic paints, colored pencil, and ink.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fish finds a book in the ocean but doesn't know what all the patterns are he is seeing in the book. He makes up stories to the other fishes about the things. Then the book gets lost. I like that he things the things are all sea creatures that he has not met yet..a fish who has never seen land or above water would think they were all sea creatures.

[abbie · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

A cute angler fish discovers a dictionary. We love Brian Lies’ illustrations, and his solo books have the ability to pull you into imaginary animal worlds that depict deep truths about our human experience.

[Mompop · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful book to introduce "oral history"/imaginative story telling.

[Amy Hesterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful!! Use this as a tool for a Creative Writing opportunity in your middle grade classroom!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book a 3.5. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful.

[Meriam Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this sweet tale of learning from other’s perspectives and experiences. Learning from others is great!

[Ann Haefele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect read aloud to students right before a creative writing initiative! May have to show young students what a dictionary is before reading it though!

[AnneLibrarian · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

For older kids.