Review by New York Times Review
I admire picture books that address challenging themes. Four new pet stories take on the big ones: loss, and even mortality. Though not all the pets in these books pass away - one is unjustly separated from its young owner, and another apparently goes missing without, it turns out, ever existing - all of the stories dip a pinkie toe into the emotional pool of loss without being morose or preachy. It's not easy territory, but we have skillful book creators to help our younger kids explore it with imagination, humor and hope. "Splotch," by Gianna Marino ("Night Animals"), is about a dead goldfish, a botched cover-up and the futility of trying to protect loved ones from hard truths. In an attempt to shelter her son from the trauma of finding his pet goldfish belly-up, Mom flushes the corpse down the toilet while the boy is at school. The boy reacts by declaring that Splotch has run away, so the next day, sneaky Mom replaces the fish with a new one and announces that Splotch has returned. The boy smells a rat when he notices a discrepancy between the new fish's markings and Splotch's splotch, but he goes along with Mom's ruse to let her feel she's being a protective mother. Marino has created an interesting game of "Who's kidding whom?" between parent and child, a situation more common than most parents might think. As a story that hinges on visual discernment, "Splotch" is appropriately light on text and strong on visual storytelling. The illustrations are flat and telegraphic, with exaggerated facial expressions to convey the characters' shifting moods and motives. Don't miss the back endpapers, which suggest an alternative, sunnier fate for Splotch and all the other fish we flush. The goldfish in "Goldfish Ghost," by Lemony Snicket and Lisa Brown, is definitely deceased. This purgatory story would be macabre if not for its matter-offact approach to death and its charming illustrations. Goldfish Ghost, white and floating upside down over his bowl, is dead right off the bat, so there's no drama around the loss. But there is a problem: Goldfish Ghost is lonely. Searching for companionship, he floats (still inverted) through a colorful seaside village, but the screeching seagulls, busy fishermen and tchotchke-toting tourists pay him no mind. With the exception of a few hidden ghost characters and a mass of sea creature ghosts (not his type), he's a fish out of water. That night, the moon beckons him to an abandoned lighthouse where the longdead but warmhearted lighthouse keeper gives him a home in the best fishbowl ever: a huge, defunct Fresnel lens. It's a graceful reminder that no matter our state of being, we all need kindness, companionship and a place to call home. The creators wisely stuck with a familiar picture book aesthetic and engaging illustrations, making what could be a scary story about death downright friendly. Especially appropriate for children experiencing loss, "Goldfish Ghost" deals with the question about life after life that's been asked for centuries. If the answer it suggests is at all accurate, then, lucky us. "Hey, Boy," a debut picture book by Benjamin Strouse and Jennifer Phelan, is the story of a young man's life and a dog that weaves in and out of it. A boy, with the help of some strategically dropped kibbles, meets and takes in a dog. Mom decides the boy is too young to handle a pet and takes it to the pound (why does Mom always have to be the bad cop?), where it's adopted by an older couple. Inspired by energetic visits with the dog, the boy is determined to grow up quickly so they can reunite permanently. As the boy matures and goes off to college, he never forgets the dog, but his visits are less frequent. Eventually, the couple - now too old to care for the dog - ask the boy to adopt him, which he happily does. Boy and dog are finally reunited, and the boy modifies their adventures to accommodate the dog's now diminished abilities, so the messages of patience, love and loyalty continue to the end. Aesthetically, the book feels retro yet fresh, with a canvas-textured cover, letterpress-inspired type and block-print-style illustrations. Like a new old friend, it's sure to be a book worth revisiting. In "Colette's Lost Pet" by Isabelle Arsenault ("Cloth Lullaby"; "Jane, the Fox and Me"), Colette has no pet - lost, dead or otherwise - but she sure has an imagination. This graphic- novel-style picture book celebrates the communal instincts of children and the healing power of storytelling. It opens as Colette, new to the neighborhood, is dealt a double whammy by one of her parents: (1) No, you cannot have a pet, and (2) Go explore your new neighborhood. When timid Colette meets some friendly children who ask the usual newkid questions, she masks her shyness with a fib about a lost pet parakeet, prompting more questions and offers to help find her bird. The search party takes off, enlisting helpers along the way while Colette's imagination fills in details about the missing pet: It's blue and yellow. Its name is Marie-Antoinette. It purrs. No, wait, it talks a little, but only in French. As Colette's crew grows, so does the parakeet. "She's gained some weight lately ... so I had to get a bigger cage, and then a bigger house," she explains. Before being called home for dinner, Colette finishes up with a whopper about riding Marie-Antoinette around the world. This inspires the other kids to put their own spin on Colette's story, offering that the bird might draw pictures, play soccer or even tap dance. They know Colette made up the whole thing, and they want to play along. Where adults might see deception, kids see collaborative storytelling. It's all made more magical with illustrations that combine a Matisse-like celebration of nature with the playfulness of Chagall. Although the book's smallish size (7 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches) cramps the story a bit, it's huge in spirit. Arsenault continues to teach us about children while advancing the art of books created for them. TOM LICHTENHELD, the author and illustrator of many picture books, most recently illustrated "Mighty, Mighty Construction Site," written by Sherri Dusker.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
A lonely specter of a once-loved pet goldfish wanders a beach town in search of company in this deadpan picture book from the well-loved Snicket. After growing bored of floating atop the goldfish bowl in his owner's bedroom, the ghost floats out the window and sees the sights: the pier, with loud seagulls; the main street bustling with people, none of whom need company; and the beach, covered in sunbathers and another ghostly pair, though they don't notice the goldfish. Brown's lively cartoonish illustrations render the town and its people in saturated, muted tones, and the dense scenes are full of fun details to discover, such as a school of ghost sea creatures, all in a spooky pallor and floating upside down, just like the goldfish. The crisp, white ghosts stand out sharply from the colorful scenes, but they're subtle enough that it's still a delight to spot them. And not to worry: the ghostly goldfish gets a happy ending. Hand this winsome, slightly eerie tale to fans of Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson's Leo: A Ghost Story (2015). HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Snicket's macabre tales have made him a household name; don't expect this ghost story to slip by unnoticed.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Goldfish Ghost was born on the surface of the water in a bowl on the dresser in a boy's room," writes Snicket (The Dark) at the outset of this melancholic looking-for-friendship story, using the fish's off-screen death as a new beginning. Brown (The Airport Book) draws Goldfish Ghost in black and white, surrounded by a world of color; he floats through the air upside-down, as any dead fish should. No one notices the ghost as he drifts over a seaside village and beach, looking for someone to talk to. Brown packs her watercolor-and-ink spreads with activity as families enjoy the salt air and seagulls wheel, yet none of it calls to Goldfish Ghost. Even among the ghosts of other sea creatures, he doesn't feel at home. At last, at the top of a supposedly haunted lighthouse, he finds "very good company" in the ghost of the lighthouse keeper. Goldfish Ghost is an enigmatic hero-is he lonely, or just fussy?-but Snicket's portrayal of the lighthouse keeper's intuitive kindness and Brown's subdued, moonlit landscapes resolve the story with moments of magic. Ages 3-6. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-In a droll twist on the typical "beloved dead pet" story, this one opens with a death-reimagined as an otherworldly birth-of a boy's pet goldfish. Born upside down and floating on top of his fishbowl, Goldfish Ghost, who remains in that position throughout, slowly drifts out of the boy's bedroom and along the idyllic seascapes of Cape Cod in search of companionship. The many shrieking seagulls pay him no heed, the busy vacationers already have friends and family, and the mass of deceased sea creatures floating above the ocean aren't quite Goldfish Ghost's scene. Eventually, the melancholic little specter finds a forever home in a lighthouse with the former lighthouse keeper, a grandmotherly presence who places him gently in the warm light that "once shone for sailors at sea." Unlike most picture books about death, this take is wholly unconcerned with the emotional repercussions felt by the pet's owner, and instead focuses squarely, and with deadpan charm, on answering one of life's most baffling and enduring questions: What happens when we die? And his answer is, perhaps surprisingly for the author of the delightfully dark "A Series of Unfortunate Events," rather comforting. Brown's signature India ink and watercolor illustrations add to the subtle tongue-in-cheek humor, depicting the titular former pet in stark black-and-white (with a single flat and staring eye) against the colorful blues, greens, and coral shades of the vacation town. As in her previous works (The Airport Book; Mummy Cat), relatable details and visual Easter eggs add depth and dimension to the setting and supporting cast of characters. VERDICT Can a book about death and the afterlife be refreshing and funny? In the hands of Snicket and Brown, indeed it can. This oddball offering should find a welcome home in any picture book collection.-Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This story begins with a death framed in terms of a birth. Goldfish Ghost was born on the surface of the water in a bowl on the dresser in a boys room. Our hero is faced with the classic ghost dilemmas: loneliness and the need for connection. He wafts around the seaside town (upside-down, of course), looking for companionship. But the world of the living has no time for a small ghost fish. Finally, he meets the ghost of a lighthouse keeper, who is also looking for company, and his wanderings are over. The two ghosts settled in together, looking out quietly at the world. They were very good company. In this straightforward quest story, told in simple words, the emotion is conveyed by color. The world of the living, a crowded, noisy beach scene, is all warm pink and beige, the figures interacting with one another and with the landscape. The ghost world is slate-gray and dark teal, and the ghost figures, in typing-paper white, sit atop the background; they arent integrated into it. When the lighthouse keeper places the ghost fish inside the lighthouse light--itself only a memory of a light--he takes on a faint hint of color, a hint of the goldfish he used to be. Its an oddly powerful visual detail. In the field of pet bereavement narratives, this one stands out for tenderness, originality, and subtlety. sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The ghost of a pet goldfish searches for a new home in this newest picture book from Snicket. "Goldfish Ghost was born on the surface of the water in a bowl on the dresser in a boy's room." So begins a sweet and somber tale of a literal fish out of water, who finds the afterlife exceedingly lonely. A pale umbra carried by the wind, Goldfish Ghost floats quietly (and perpetually upside down) out of his bowl in search of conversation and company. But "it can be hard to find the company you are looking for," and though he comes upon a flock of shrieking birds over the pier, a crowd of sunbathers on the beach, and even several ghosts of sea creatures hovering above the ocean, none feel quite right. Late in the day, just when he has given up, Goldfish Ghost at last hears a friendly voice of another lonely ghost hoping to find a friend, and settled atop a lighthouse, the two make excellent company. Although they occupy the same space on the page as their living counterparts, the ghostly specters (marked by their solid white coloring) are suffused with quiet emotion as they move between spreads. Mirroring the text's unhurried and occasionally awkwardly paced narrative, Brown expertly and with deceptive simplicity sets the questing ghosts apart from the frenetic bustle of the living world. A lovely, untrammeled look at a pet's afterlife. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
