Sophie's Fish

January 2, 2012
Jake, a redheaded, bespectacled geek in short pants—sort of a young Woody Allen—wrings his hands over the prospect of taking care of his friend Sophie’s goldfish. “What if Yo-Yo gets hungry and wants a snack?” he worries. “What kind of snacks do fish like to eat?” White’s (Druscilla’s Halloween) loopy ink, watercolor, and collage spreads dive deep into Jake’s psyche, showing him offering a slice of Strawberry Worm Cake to the fish, who lounges in a chair in a formal suit and bowtie. Cannon (A Crazy Day at the Critter Café) pursues the boy’s concerns to their inevitably calamitous end, which has him envisioning the fish sobbing as it awaits Sophie’s return. A deftly executed sequence of panel illustrations provides genuine suspense as Jake plans to refuse the fish and awaits
Sophie’s arrival with widened eyes. In White’s gentle idiom, there’s nothing frightening about Jake’s worries; they draw sympathy for him and, by extension, for any kid who expects the worst. And sometimes, as the gag ending suggests, it’s good to be prepared. Ages 3–5. Agent: Tracy Adams, Adams Literary.

Starred review from February 1, 2012
Transfixing artwork shows a boy's imagination running wild on the potential ramifications of pet sitting. When schoolmate Sophie asks Jake to care for her fish, Yo-Yo, for a weekend, he agrees, because "[h]ow hard can it be to babysit a fish?" But while waiting for Yo-Yo to arrive, Jake begins to worry. "What kind of snacks do fish like to eat?" he frets. White presents a massive Strawberry Worm Cake as a possible fish snack; standing atop the highest layer, Jake offers a slice to a laughing blue fish he finds sitting upright on a wire chair. The fish is as big as Jake. Next, Jake wonders, "[w]hat if Yo-Yo wants to play a game?" Here, the portrayed fish is several times Jake's size, dressed as a pirate and riding an enormous rubber ducky. Watercolor dominates the mixed media, inventively complemented by collage and drawing. Lines dance playfully around the shapes they're meant to outline, sometimes sliding off a shape's edge, sometimes bleeding into the watercolor. Tidbits of collage, sometimes of patterned paper, are fascinating yet never loud. Jake's shorts are watercolor, but his shirt is collaged plaid; the tissues the fish weeps into look like tiny cut-out photos; flower petals are delicate newsprint. Jake calms his fears just in time--well, just in time for the shocking Yo-Yo to arrive. Visually offbeat and beautiful. (Picture book. 3-6)

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February 1, 2012

K-Gr 2-After Jake agrees to babysit Sophie's fish for the weekend, he spends the afternoon concerned about this new responsibility: "I don't know anything about taking care of fish!" In an increasingly surreal series of imaginings, he worries about feeding, entertaining, and comforting his piscine guest. He is relieved when his friend informs him that he just has to feed Yo-Yo twice daily. "Babysitting Sophie's fish will be a snap!" ... but in a surprise twist, the pet turns out to be a giant, scary-looking lantern fish, perhaps not such an amiable guest after all. The rather ridiculous humor is reinforced by quirky mixed-media illustrations. Fishy details wait to be discovered by observant viewers, such as fish-shaped leaves on trees and fishily re-titled children's books. There's not much point to the story, but kids will enjoy the silliness that abounds in both text and pictures.-Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2012
Grades K-2 When classmate Sophie asks Jake to babysit her fish for the weekend, he agrees. After all, it's only a fishhow hard can it be? But as Jake anticipates Yo-Yo's arrival, doubts creep in, like what if the fish wants a snack (and what kind of snack) and what games will he want to play? Jake starts to think fish-sitting is not such a great idea, and he decides to proclaim his home a fish-free zone and hide. But when Sophie arrives and reassures him, Jake gains his confidence back. Then, in an amusing final twist, he finds a surprise waiting for him. Jake's animated first-person narrative makes for an entertaining read, as does the design, which incorporates various fonts and sound effects. Colorful, mixed-media illustrations whimsically depict characters and scenarios, and details, like Jake's imagined Strawberry Worm Cake (to feed Yo-Yo) and clocks with fish-shaped hands, invite scrutiny. This story sympathetically depicts a familiar problem and tackles issues related to being responsible, doing the right thing, and being a good host.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)