I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure what to write about this month so I looked at the closest book to me, and it’s about fish. So… let’s talk about some fish books!

Pretty Fish

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Rainbow Fish is a fish with rainbow scales. He thinks that being beautiful makes him better than the other fish, but since he’s rude they don’t want to be friends with him. He learns that acting better than everyone else means nothing if it means you have no friends. He starts to share his rainbow scales, and his kindness is appreciated and awarded. You can use it to have a conversation with your child about the importance of kindness, and being aware of how their actions make others feel.

Fugitive Fish

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

A small fish is on the run (swim?) from a large fish after stealing a hat. The small fish does his best to evade the large fish, but in the end we see the large fish wearing the hat and the small fish is nowhere in sight. To be fair to small children, we don’t see the large fish eat the small fish. But older children will understand, and little ones will probably believe if told that the small fish managed to escape. This story is simple enough for young children, but the dry humor will appeal to adults.

Rhyming Fish

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

As regular readers may recall, I’m not actually a fan of most Dr. Seuss books. Still, how can I do a post about fish books and not include this well-loved classic? Kids love the rhyming text, as well as the nonsense and tongue twisters. Adults love that it helps keep kids reading. Dr. Seuss was a master of writing books for beginner readers, and that’s why his books are still among the most popular in the library.

Australian Fish?

Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey

Piranhas don’t eat bananas… except this one, who tries to convince his friends that they should while they try to convince him that he should be eating body parts. The book is meant to rhyme, but the author is Australian, so I can’t even look at the title without saying it in a silly, snooty British voice. I haven’t actually read this to my Kindergartener yet, but I am going to soon and I expect that the silly accent along with all of the silly things that happen in the book will make for a successful read-aloud.

Check out Miss Michelle’s Book Nook

Miss Michelle shares her book recommendations each month on the In Our Homeschool blog. Find links to all of her posts here.

Miss Michelle is the sister of Kristen, who writes this blog. She has a daughter who is 10 and a son who is 5. They are not home-schooled, but Miss Michelle is super supportive and proud of her sister for doing it. She has been a full-time Children’s Librarian for over 16 years and loves to recommend her favorite books. You can follow her on Goodreads, where she keeps track of books she has read for storytime, at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/170007385-miss-michelle.