The Not Very Merry Pout Pout Fish swims a familiar tail, but that’s OK

We’re fans of the Pout Pout Fish in this house. Their adventures of the blue fish that could use a little encouragement or confidence are stories that kids through age 6 will really enjoy.  The premise in these books by Deborah Diesen is basic, the Pout Pout Fish goes about having a pity party or being scared of something.  After a couple attempts and failing they succeed. It’s a simple premise, but one that kids will readily catch on to, enjoy and want to read over and over.

Case in point is The Not Very Merry Pout Pout Fish. Our kids have been chomping at the bit to finally have this book in their room. I needed to take photos of it, put it in the queue, but they were having none of that and simply wanted to look at the pictures by Dan Hanna and read it on their own time.

The Not Very Merry Pout Pout Fish has them swimming around worrying about what to get their friends for the holidays. Pout Pout knows (or thinks) that the best gifts should big, bright and perfect. All manner of rhyming and creative fish play go on with going from store to store looking at various gifts.

After the third store Pout Pout realizes that a gift should also have meaning. He’s just about to give up hope when a friend suggests that he make his own gifts! Boom, Pout Pout gets on with making gifts that looked like the perfect ones that were seen in the stores.

Pout Pout goes to the party, gives all of the gifts to their friends and they love them.  As a narrative the book doesn’t seem that entertaining for any age. What really makes the book dance is the same charm that the rest of the Pout Pout books have. They’re repetitive, rhyme, feature great painted arts and can easily be read aloud in six  minutes.

Boom, that is the perfect good-night book. It has enough free space to allow for conversation or questions about the fish. The vocabulary is simple enough so that a young reader, 5 years old can make out some of the words and feel a great sense of accomplishment by helping (or doing it all by themselves) read the book.

The Not Very Merry Pout Pout Fish never uses Christmas by name. It’s always holiday, but in this surround it’s OK. Whatever holiday party the fish are having is one that you’re gathering gifts for, don’t be late.