Moonfish

by Graeme Base

The fish that live in the pond beneath the dragon-moon are happy. They know the moon will keep them safe. But it was not always like this . . . There was a time when they looked to the skies with fear.

The acclaimed creator of Animalia brings us a stunning tale of magical, dream-like worlds hidden beneath the surface and wild and wonderful creatures above.

A moving, visually gorgeous fable about family, belonging and growing up to be more than you ever dreamed possible.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy

48 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2019

About the author

Graeme Rowland Base is a British-Australian author and artist of picture books. He is perhaps best known for his second book, Animalia published in 1986, and third book The Eleventh Hour which was released in 1989.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visual storytelling at its best. Be prepared to lose … no, make that invest, a lot of time reading this enchanting fable.

[Jill Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magnificent picture book with images that transport the reader to a magical world.

The creative tale of an orphan outcast fish finding a home, and travels to find where he belongs.

This could be a Chinese fable.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author and Illustrator: Graeme Base
Age Recommendation: Pre-School/Kinder
Topic/ Theme: Sense of self, mythological
Setting: Somewhat ambiguous Asia

I see Graeme Base I haven't read before I borrow it from the library asap. 👀😍 Moonfish does not disappoint.

It's stunningly beautiful and works with what appears to be an East Asian mythological base (likely not Chinese, Chang'E their lunar deity has one of the loveliest origin stories). It doesn't look like it's based directly on any myth but it certainly feels inspired by that in the architecture and lore. This is a story about finding home, finding out who you are and who you are meant to be. All with wonderful fish visuals and so many details and variations in the fish and their settings. The titular Moonfish does at some point go on walkabout, that section has a lot of diversity in the areas we see. The choice to have a parchment-like colouring under the text was a good one, it increases readability and increases consistency across the pages. I do like the slightly larger format too, it allows for better viewing of the images.

And this is yet another book I want to see the original art for. I know where at least some of them are held and occasionally displayed. If you ever get the opportunity to see Graeme Base's art in person it is very much worth it.

[Aldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderfully weird and vibrant world! So much detail, and some of it has something almost unsettling about it, in an interesting way.

(No, I'm not last-minute stuffing my yearly read count with picture books, but they're sitting right there on the coffee table - what am I supposed to do, not read a book that exists in my line of sight??)

[Lara Bate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moonfish is a story of a fish who gets adopted into another family. The other fish tease him because he is so different so he ends up leaving. He then comes back and scares away the birds. It has Japanese influences in the book e.g., temple and trees.

[Samantha Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Such a beautiful story.

Graeme's illustrations are so unique!

This story taught me that just because you don't fit in, doesn't mean you don't belong.
As well as; you never know your true strength unless you are being tested.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Base Jump #8
Some sort of riff on ugly duckling mixed with mythology around this moonfish,
And then a really rushed ending without giving us more details we really wanted and needed.
A good basis for a story that was not told to us.

[Maree Silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations as usual, illustrating a Chinese version of a story similar to The Ugly Duckling.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite.

[Dwayne Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graeme Base’s excellent illustrations as always & a great story to follow.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually beautiful

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Chinese-inspired, ugly duckling story but with fish, featuring Base's usual gorgeous art.

[AD · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite Graeme Base book so far (and there are a lot to choose from!).
The illustrations are magical, and the theme of belonging is uniquely explored in this wonderful picture book.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous as usual, with an interesting imagining of Chinese landscapes in an underwater setting. Themes of belonging are explored in this take on the Ugly Duckling tale.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this “ugly duckling” story. Touching!

[Lync Lync · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant complex artwork as always, with an enchanting fable to go with it.