The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark

April 30, 2007
Adding to the growing genre of reinvented fairytales comes a playful take on the old favorite, "The Three Little Pigs." In this version, the pigs are replaced by three fish and the wolf's role is assumed by a toothy shark. Geist stays true to the plot of the original text but makes this story his own with the addition of clever rhymes ("Not by the skin of my finny fin fin") and inventive puns ("We fish stick together"). Gorton's (The Bouncing, Dancing, Galloping ABC) digitally rendered underwater world is jam-packed with sea life in vivid blues and greens and creates a dynamic setting that bustles with activity and movement. Readers will find it difficult to ignore the larger-than-life shark whose massive choppers are arguably more threatening than the wolf's. But the timid will find relief in the satisfying ending in which the once-scary shark gets his just desserts (in the form of a necessarily vegetarian diet). This brief, enjoyable read proves a fun adaptation that a new generation will likely savor. Ages 4-8.