The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School

Mr. Fish returns in this third picture-book devoted to his adventures, following upon The Pout-Pout Fish and The Pout-Pout Fish and the Big Big Dark, this time confronting the daunting experience of beginning school for the first time. Everywhere he goes, he finds that he doesn't have the requisite knowledge to succeed, something which only strengthens his naturally gloomy outlook, leading to his conclusion that he doesn't belong in school. Fortunately, his teacher Miss Hewitt gets to him just in time, and leads him to the class for brand-new fish, where he finds he fits right in...

Like its predecessors, The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School pairs a rhyming text from author Deborah Diesen with colorful artwork from illustrator Dan Hanna. show more Unlike its predecessors, the narrative here is somewhat awkward, with a rhyme scheme that often felt a little forced. "The class was doing writing, / And most everybody knew it. / So he tried to print his name... / But he just couldn't do it." Does one "do" writing? Can one say that "everybody knew it," when clearly what is meant is that everyone else knew how to do it (i.e.: write)? One can if the object is to force a rhyme, with little regard for the clarity of one's sentence. I don't recall encountering these problems in the other Pout-Pout Fish books - although this is the third title in the series, it is the fifth that I have read - which always struck me as scanning fairly well, with a sing-songy, limerick-style rhythm that would make for a good read-aloud. It's unfortunate, as I do think the message here, that you don't need to know everything at the beginning, and shouldn't compare your status as a new student with those who are already well established, and further along in their studies, is a positive one. I also appreciate the colorful artwork, with its many humorous details, such as the posters in Mr. Fish's school, advertising such things as Leonardo de Pinchy (a crab) or Michelanjellyo (a jellyfish).

All in all, this was a mixed bag, and a bit of a disappointment for someone who enjoyed the other books about this piscine character and his underwater adventures. I think die-hard Pout-Pout Fish fans will probably still enjoy it, but it definitely isn't the strongest in the series. show less

Pout-Pout Fish does it again, and now he's going to school!
A funny little rhyming game that Mr. Fish plays with himself that encourages your child to discuss why they are hesitant about starting school.

Mr. Fish is scared and worried he is not ready for school. He does not know where to go and finds himself in different classrooms trying different things, like writing and math, that he does not know how to do. This overwhelms him and he gets upset because he does not know how to do these things yet and he wants to leave school.
His teacher finds him and explains that when you're a new fishie, you're not suppose to know these things yet. You start in a classroom that will help you and one day you will learn how to write, do math, and show more much more. Don't be discouraged, just try and you'll succeed.

I have to admit, the beginning of the book felt a little discouraging. But, we must remember, Mr. Fish is a pouty fish that sees the negatives first and needs help seeing the positives to in order to turn his frowny face upside down! Like most little kids around the age 3-5, they want to do so much, but because they are so little, they get discouraged very easily and need all the guidance and support that they can get. Mr. Fish and his teacher are sure to give them a much needed boost in realizing that they're not alone and that they will get to where they want to.

Again, the illustrations are wonderfully done in a mystical underwater setting that is fun and relatable. Adorable as always! Looking forward to more books in the near future. show less

Written in verse with great rhythm, Mr. Fish heads off to his first day of school and can't find his class right away. Each class he mistakenly enters leads him to feel intimidated and believe that he does not belong because he can't keep up with the lessons. Finally he finds the "brand-new fish" room. The teacher reassures him that he is not expected to know things that he hasn't learned yet. Here, in the Kindergarten class, he learns the pride and confidence, the foundation for grade school. This book would be useful on a kindergarten bookshelf to help apprehensive kids during their transition from preschool to the longer days of kindergarten.

This review orignially published by The Children's Book and Media Review

Mr. Fish feels out of place on his first day of school. All the other fish know where to go to find their lockers and classes, and everyone else seems better than he is at doing things. He starts counting his troubles, and as things seem to get harder for him, he keeps repeating his troubles to himself. He decides to quit, but his teacher, Miss Hewitt, comes to tell him that she will teach him everything he needs to know and that his perceptions about his problems are the opposite of reality. Mr. Fish learns that everyone can do if they work hard enough.

The plot of this book is very simple, but children who are starting new things that they are worried about will show more identify with Mr. Fish in his trouble to belong. Some parents might not like the repeated message of the troubles, even though the opposite of them are shown to be true at the end of the book. The illustrations are cute and provide some opportunity for kids to reinforce their knowledge of numbers and shapes. This book is a good story to reassure readers that they can do hard things and belong, even if they don’t feel like they can at the beginning. show less

In my opinion this a good book to read, especially for children entering kindergarten or school. The first reason I enjoyed reading this book was the writing. Specifically, the author has a rhyming scheme throughout the book that keeps young or old readers engaged and entertained. Some of the writing is also in a some-what graphic novel style. For example, on some pages, the author puts the “chorus” or the main saying on a page that and repeats it throughout the book. In most of her other books, just like this book, she starts with the main saying to be negative. Then, as the story progresses, the main saying flips into being positive. For example, in this book she writes “Trouble one: I’m not smart! Trouble two: I’ll never show more get it! Trouble Three: I don’t belong! So four: I should forget it!” this is repeated on a few pages. This may help connect to readers (or listeners) who may have these anxious feelings about starting school and better connect or relate to them. Then, at the end of the book the author writes the opposite of each saying (ex. “Fact one: We are smart!”). Another part about this book that made me enjoy reading was the illustrations. I love that the books are all based on a fish because it allows readers of all race, ethnicities, backgrounds, and etc. to connect. The overall big idea I got after reading this book was overcoming the fear of starting school. show less

Summary:

Mr. Fish started school for the very first time and because of all the big fish around, he lost his way to his classroom. Mr. Fish ended up wandering into a classroom that was doing writing, then Mr. Fish decided he couldn't write as well as the others and stubbled into another class that was drawing shapes. Mr. Fish realized everyone else can draw shapes better than him! Then Mr. Fish decided to leave and walk into a classroom that was doing long division. After each new classroom encounter Mr. Fish stated "Number 1: I can't do it, Number 2: I'll never get it, Number 3: I don't belong, and Number 4: I should forget it!" Mr. Fish walked out of school, but before he could leave Miss Hewitt the "brand new fish" teacher came out show more and told Mr. Fish that he does belong in the Brand- New Fish classroom. She took him into the classroom, and he learned many things that day with lots of help from Miss Hewitt. She told the class: Fact One: You are smart, Fact Two: You can get it, Fact Three: You belong, and Fact Four: Don't forget it!

Review:

This is a very cute rhyme about how important it is to know that you are smart, you belong, and you can do anything you set your mind to as long as you don't forget it! Basically, i think that with the classroom encounters it is depicting Mr. Fish really struggling to learn and no one realizing that he is in the wrong classroom or needs assistance instead he is ignored. I think this really upset Mr. Fish because he just felt dumb even though he was much younger than the children and didn't know how to do everything they were yet. This would be a really good book to read to younger grades because at an early age it shows children how important it is to believe in yourself which will help them throughout their entire school career. This book would also be great to use when teaching rhyming because the whole book rhymes and it would be interesting to have students read it with you in a shared reading or read aloud. show less

On Pout-Pout Fish's first day of school, he gets turned around and ends up in several classrooms before he finds the right one. He tries to write, draw shapes, and do math, getting more and more troubled, until his teacher finds him: "I am here to help you learn and I know that you can do it!"

Rhyming text avoids the temptation of "school of fish" jokes, other than the obvious one in the title.