Pish-Posh

Serendipity

by Stephen Cosgrove, Robin James

Pish tries to convince Posh, an arrogant llama, that the other animals in Mashew Peeshoo, fish, rabbits, and birds are all valuable and offer their own contributions to the world

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 1986

Reviews

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these little moral books so lovingly illustrated!

[Arwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate Pish Posh for being a different sort of a book. Yes the book has a moral, but no the main character doesn't learn his lesson by the end of the book. He gets many chances, but instead of seeing the light he continues on as he did before. The fact that the main character is a snooty llama just makes it kinda of fun. A great little story about why we shouldn't think of ourselves as better than everyone else.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story and it has such a meaningful lesson for children of all races, colours and sizes. We are all created beautifully and need not compare ourselves with any other creature. We are all individuals even though some creatures will look very different from us and some quite similar, and we can all find out soul mates somewhere in this big wide world. The illustrations are gorgeous.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like llamas. The drawings of llamas were rather pretty.

I remember the serendipity books being kinda silly and cute and fun. Did I just miss the overtly preachiness as a child?

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one addresses the issues I had with the ending of Memily. Posh, a beautiful and snobbish llama, lives high in the mountains and thinks himself far superior to all the other animals around him. He sneers at the fish, birds, and bunnies, and only thinks he's met his equal when he finally meets someone who looks much like him: another llama named Pish.

This is where Memily ended; instead, Cosgrove carries on with Pish gently convincing Posh that the other animals are worthwhile and special in their own unique ways. It seems like that will be the moral of the story, since Posh does appear to be listening to her at first. Finally, though, he gets fed up and sneers, "I thought you were my equal, but now I don't think you have a purpose either!"

And Pish, perhaps one of the best characters in the Serendipity books, calmly but cuttingly replies, "To be your equal I would have to believe that I was better than everyone else."

Posh carries on in his lofty, limited worldview, so it's not the happiest ending. But it's a realistic one, with a strong and important message.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you dont read this book you will regret it.

[Julie sims and books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! we all have a purpose....

[Kimberly Souza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series!!!!