A Fish Out of Water

Rating:
Summary: You can say "Don't" but boys always do...
Review: I know that there are all sorts of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm that all supposed to terrify little kids with stories about beasts in the woods and such. But when I look back on my childhood and recall the stories that gave me the wiggins, one of the books on that short list was "A Fish Out of Water" by Helen Palmer. Yes, this "I Can Read It All By Myself" book from the Cat in the Hat "Beginner Books" series with the illustrations by P.D. Eastman gave me the creeps. You see, this particular little tale has working in its favor a couple of scientific facts and I was reading this book at a time when our school class would go outside to watch the Mercury rockets take off from Cape Canaveral and we would go out to duck and cover in the school hallway during bomb drills. So it was clear to me at an early age how dangerous science could be.

The story in "A Fish out of Water" is quite simple. A young boy, not unlike myself except that he has long hair (relatively speaking in my case at that age), goes to the fish store and pick out a goldfish to purchase. The boy decides to call the fish Otto and is told by Mr. Carp the correct way to feed him: "When you feed a fish, never feed him a lot. So much and no more! Never more than a spot, or something may happen! You never know what!"

Of course the young boy does give Otto more than "so much" and he learns what happens when you feed a fish too much. One of the scientific principles here is that too much of good things can be very bad, especially is the good thing there is too much of is food for a fish. The other scientific principle is that goldfish tend to grow in size in proportion to the container in which they are contained. So the idea that a goldfish can GROW is grounded in truth and even as a kid I knew this. Besides, all the police and firemen in town know better than to feed a fish too much, so there are all sorts of authority figures reinforcing the lesson here.

OKAY! OKAY! I HAD A GOLDFISH AND I FED IT TOO MUCH AND IT DIED! IT IS GUILT, OVER FORTY YEARS OF ACCUMALATED GUILT GNAWING AT MY SOUL THAT MAKES ME CRINGE WHEN I READ THIS BOOK! ALL MY GOLDFISH DIED. SO DID THE TURTLE SOMEBODY WAS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO GIVE ME WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE. NOW I HAVE A CAT AND WHO KNOWS HOW SHE HAS MANAGED TO SURVIVE THIS LONG; I FEEL I AM TEMPTING FATE JUST BY MENTIONING HER HERE.

So if you are a young kid reading this book for the first time and you have a gold fish or any other sort of pet that requires feeding, pay attention to the rules and always obey them. Then you and your pet can have a long, loving relationship and grow up to become a well adjusted human being who will not be emotionally crippled by unexpected trips down memory lane while reading a book for the first time in forty-plus years.

Rating:
Summary: You can say "Don't" but boys always do...
Review: I know that there are all sorts of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm that all supposed to terrify little kids with stories about beasts in the woods and such. But when I look back on my childhood and recall the stories that gave me the wiggins, one of the books on that short list was "A Fish Out of Water" by Helen Palmer. Yes, this "I Can Read It All By Myself" book from the Cat in the Hat "Beginner Books" series with the illustrations by P.D. Eastman gave me the creeps. You see, this particular little tale has working in its favor a couple of scientific facts and I was reading this book at a time when our school class would go outside to watch the Mercury rockets take off from Cape Canaveral and we would go out to duck and cover in the school hallway during bomb drills. So it was clear to me at an early age how dangerous science could be.

The story in "A Fish out of Water" is quite simple. A young boy, not unlike myself except that he has long hair (relatively speaking in my case at that age), goes to the fish store and pick out a goldfish to purchase. The boy decides to call the fish Otto and is told by Mr. Carp the correct way to feed him: "When you feed a fish, never feed him a lot. So much and no more! Never more than a spot, or something may happen! You never know what!"

Of course the young boy does give Otto more than "so much" and he learns what happens when you feed a fish too much. One of the scientific principles here is that too much of good things can be very bad, especially is the good thing there is too much of is food for a fish. The other scientific principle is that goldfish tend to grow in size in proportion to the container in which they are contained. So the idea that a goldfish can GROW is grounded in truth and even as a kid I knew this. Besides, all the police and firemen in town know better than to feed a fish too much, so there are all sorts of authority figures reinforcing the lesson here.

OKAY! OKAY! I HAD A GOLDFISH AND I FED IT TOO MUCH AND IT DIED! IT IS GUILT, OVER FORTY YEARS OF ACCUMALATED GUILT GNAWING AT MY SOUL THAT MAKES ME CRINGE WHEN I READ THIS BOOK! ALL MY GOLDFISH DIED. SO DID THE TURTLE SOMEBODY WAS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO GIVE ME WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE. NOW I HAVE A CAT AND WHO KNOWS HOW SHE HAS MANAGED TO SURVIVE THIS LONG; I FEEL I AM TEMPTING FATE JUST BY MENTIONING HER HERE.

So if you are a young kid reading this book for the first time and you have a gold fish or any other sort of pet that requires feeding, pay attention to the rules and always obey them. Then you and your pet can have a long, loving relationship and grow up to become a well adjusted human being who will not be emotionally crippled by unexpected trips down memory lane while reading a book for the first time in forty-plus years.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: I loved this book as a child and now I'm having a wonderful time reading it with my son. This is a delightful story of a little boy who gets a fish and doesn't listen to Mr. Carp ( the pet shop owner) who tells him how to feed the fish. Of couse the little boy doesn't follow directions and finds out that bad things can happen when you don't follow to directions. Even though this book is over twenty years old the illustrations are not outdated. Great for anyone, but especially for kids who want a pet.

Rating:
Summary: My 3 yr old not only LOVES it - She is obsessed with it!
Review: If book devouring 3 yr old had a top ten list, this might be up there as number 9 or 10.....she has loved this book since she was about 2 yrs old and not only loves it but has transferred things from it to her everyday speech! Example: When she wants to stay up later then usual fro example , she says "Please Mommy, just so much and no more!" as quoted from the book..... also when I ask if she wants milk for example she says "Just a spot!"......and adds sometimes "You never know what can happen, you never know what!"

For awhile it WAS the bedtime book.....now we have gone on to other things but she never turns down this book if I ask her if she wants to read it....Mista KAR-p as she says in her NY accent.......

The downside of it being a bedtime book? It you want a SHORT story, this one is kinda long ....especially if you have a toddler you screams "AGAIN! AGAIN!" before you are even on the last page......: )

Rating:
Summary: Don't hesitate..Buy It..Fun book
Review: My 3 year old son's favorite book right now. Great illustrations and a great lesson for kids nakes this book a great choice for kids. The lesson it teaches is that when you don't listen to instructions, the consequence may be too much to handle. Your kid will love the story. It tells of a boy who buys a fish and feeds the fish too much despite what the pet store clerk told him. The results are overwhelming for the little boy.

Rating:
Summary: A keeper
Review: My three year old son has loved this book to be read over and over and over since he was two. The subject, combined with the pictures can help a child develop expressive language. When the fish keeps getting bigger, and the boy goes through all that trouble trying to move his fish, Otto, into bigger and bigger containers, my son's eyes get big and he gasps and looks at me and says "Oh no!"

This is a delightfull tale of a little boy who feeds his fish too much, and the extremly silly, or dire(depending on your age how you see it) consequences. In the end, the pet store owner comes to the rescue after the police and firemen have done thier part to try to help get the fish more comfortable. A good lesson about listening to, and following instructions, and asking for help when you need it is within the story.

Rating:
Summary: A real winner with kids
Review: My three year old son has loved this book to be read over and over and over since he was two. The subject, combined with the pictures can help a child develop expressive language. When the fish keeps getting bigger, and the boy goes through all that trouble trying to move his fish, Otto, into bigger and bigger containers, my son's eyes get big and he gasps and looks at me and says "Oh no!"

This is a delightfull tale of a little boy who feeds his fish too much, and the extremly silly, or dire(depending on your age how you see it) consequences. In the end, the pet store owner comes to the rescue after the police and firemen have done thier part to try to help get the fish more comfortable. A good lesson about listening to, and following instructions, and asking for help when you need it is within the story.

Rating:
Summary: one star or five stars
Review: This book could be rated one star or fives stars-- It's one star if you don't want to read it to your child 1,000 times. My 3 year had the entire book memorized, so first I read it to him and then he 'reads' it to himself. It's his favorite book. A good companion book is "Clifford, the Small Red Puppy" which describes how Clifford started out as the runt of the litter, and grows huge when the little girls asks him to grow bigger. Kids seem facinated by these 'getting bigger' stories.

Rating:
Summary: A Fish Out of Water
Review: This story starts of with a little boy going to the pet store to buy a fish. He picks out the one he wants and names him Otto. Mr. Carp, the pet storeowner, tells the boy how to feed Otto. "Never feed him a lot. Never more than a spot! Or something may happen. You never know what."

When the little boy gets home, he feeds Otto just a spot, but Otto isn't happy. He wants more food. Our hero remembers what Mr. Carp told him, but disobeys and feeds Otto the whole box of fish food.

Then something happens, just like Mr. Carp said. Otto begins to grow. He grows and grows, until he is too big for the bathtub. The little boy calls the police, who tow poor Otto to the pool, but soon Otto is too big for that too. Mr. Carp gets called, and shrinks Otto back to his normal size, and says to the boy "And from now on, PLEASE don't feed him too much. Just so much, and no more!"

The pictures in this book are bright, colorful and expressive. The story teaches the importance of following directions in a way that isn't too obvious or preachy. The reason I give this book 4 stars instead of five stars is that the writing doesn't flow overly well. The way the writing is arranged looks as if it should rhyme, and some of it does, but for the most part it doesn't. Other than that I like the book.

Loggie-log-log-log

Rating:
Summary: A good lesson
Review: We recently got a fish as a pet and my daughter was constantly wanting to feed it. I remembered this book from my childhood and got it to read to my daughter so that she might have an idea (although a little exaggerated) about what happens if you feed a fish too much. She loved the book and asks to read it again and again. And she doesn't ask to feed the fish all the time anymore!