« The Pros and Cons of Sandra Bullock | Main | Green as a Bean: Poetry Friday »
April 05, 2007
Conspiracy, Anyone?
I have a problem. There aren’t enough good nonfiction books about fish, and kids like to read about fish. Every time a kid asks me about fish, I’m embarrassed by the pathetic state of our collection – very little selection and what we own is dated. So I’ve been trying to find some new books. This is what I have learned: someone out there is pushing clown fish on children. I’d blame Finding Nemo, but clown fish were on an absurd number of book covers even before 2003. Here are some examples:
Angelfish, Megamouth Sharks & Other Fish by Steve Parker (2006)*
*I think this may not actually be a clown fish, but it looks an awful lot like one. It's like the alternative clown fish for kids who want something a little different.
Fish by Peter Murray (2005)
Fish by Bev Harvey (2003)
Hello, Fish: Visiting the Coral Reef by Sylvia Earle (1999)
There are more. Angelfish are a close second bookcoverwise, but clown fish and orange fish that look like clown fish are completely where it's at. Of course, I had a kid visit the library the other day asking about other kinds of fish, and we were pretty much sunk. So, authors, I'm just saying, you have a choice. There are other fish in the sea. If you write a book about them, I am going to be inclined to add said book to my library's collection. I might even go all crazy and recommend it to other people. Think it over.
Posted by adrienne at April 5, 2007 02:37 PM
Comments
Here is a fish just aching for its own book.
Posted by: Alkelda the Gleeful at April 6, 2007 06:43 PM
You've pointed out a sad fact, Adrienne. There are so many AMAZING fish out there--why must Nemo get all the love? Maybe you can write a fish book after your homeschooling book. We'd buy it for our library!
Posted by: Stephanie at April 8, 2007 10:21 PM
But Jack loves Nee-moo!
Posted by: Cathy at April 10, 2007 11:22 AM