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Apr 12, 2015mmcbeth29 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Pout pout fish is a gloomy fish. Others in the sea try to encourage him not to be so gloomy, but the pout pout fish believes he can't be anything else. He even flops sadly all over the place. But his outlook on life changes when a kiss kiss fish comes to visit. The illustrations are colorful and full of detail. The detail is more in the background so it does not distract the young reader, but gives additional interest to the older readers. The illustrations do an excellent job of showing facial expression and emotion. What I love about this book is that it portrays a fish who believes he is naturally a gloomy fish when bad things happen to him in life. But actually, the bad things happen to him because he is gloomy. For example, he falls off the shelf edge into a jar of peanut butter because his gloominess drags him down. But in the end, when he feels the power of the kiss from the kiss kiss fish, his perspective changes and he decides to no longer live the life of a gloomy fish. I believe this story portrays that attitude and happiness is a choice. And of course none of the others telling him to be happy were getting through. It was the fish who took action that made a difference. I love the surprise ending. The story is told in rhyme that works really well. There are some advanced words, but as always, this is a teaching opportunity and the vocabulary does not get in the way of the story. There is a little something for everyone in this story. This would be a lovely story to read to your gloomy child or pouting child and end it will kisses and tickles! Recommended for ages 3-6. I say you can bump that up to age 7. I highly recommend this story!