Agatha May and the Anglerfish

by Nora Morrison, Jessie Ann Foley, Mika Song (Illustrator)

Overview

A funny, fish-filled story about the joys of learning, and the rewards that come with staying true to who you are

Agatha May just can’t understand why her classmates aren’t as crazy as she is about the hideous humpback anglerfish. But when a school assignment gives Agatha the chance to show everybody what they’re missing, she single-handedly schools them all—and, in the process, discovers a passion for research and an exciting new dream for her future.

This book is perfect for dreamers, outside-the-box thinkers, and anyone who has ever felt like their special interest wasn't appreciated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593324752
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	418,875
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jessie Ann Foley is the Printz Honor-winning author of the young adult novels The Carnival at Bray, Neighborhood Girls, and Sorry for Your Loss. Her work has been named to best-of lists by Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, New York Public Library, YALSA, Entertainment Weekly, and many other outlets. She lives with her family in Chicago, where she was born and raised.

Nora Morrison is a SCUBA divemaster and works in the curation department of the Greater Cleveland Aquarium as a diver. She loves swimming with ten-foot-long sand tiger sharks and finding teeth in the shark exhibit there. She is also a former travel guidebook writer, and her favorite spots to dive are the islands of Utila, Honduras; Coiba, Panamá; and Maui, Hawaii. “Morrison” means “sea choice” in the Irish language.


Mika Song is a children's author and illustrator who makes stories about sweetly funny outsiders. In 2015, she received the Portfolio Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She's illustrated six books for other authors, including A Friend for Henry by Jenn Bailey which received the Schneider Family Honor from the American Library Association.

Editorial Reviews

10/24/2022

Agatha May, a uniform-wearing student shown with tan skin and black hair, is constantly at odds with her white-presenting teacher, who punctuates the introduction to a new assignment with reprimands directed in the child’s way: for chewing gum, having messy fingers, and eating in class. Students, portrayed with varying skin tones, can choose sea creatures for the assignment based on merit points, so Agatha May knows that someone else will probably grab the anglerfish first. Yet when her turn arrives, “something happened!/ something wondrous and strange!/ It was Agatha’s turn—/ and her fish was unclaimed!” She prepares with exceptional care, and her presentation on the creature, a predator that does not swim and uses a bioluminescent lure to draw its prey, brings down the house—and draws warm recognition from her teacher. Song (Mako and Tiger) captures the classroom’s energy with charged jet-black ink lines, gentle washes, and energetic crayon textures. Foley (Breda’s Island) and her sister Morrison, diver for an aquarium’s curation department, wield smartly scanning verse for this story of triumph about a kid who shines when she can work independently. Anglerfish facts conclude. Ages 5–8. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Booklist Editors' Choice 2022
A Kids Indie Next List pick

★ “This book is a gem in so many ways…The rhyme is engaging, the art is beautifully rendered, and the story is one that plays out in schools every day…This is a perfect fit for libraries, and a must buy for elementary schools. It is a lively read aloud and captures life in a classroom in a fun way.” –School Library Journal, starred review

★ “A buoyant depiction of a memorable, and possibly life-changing, classroom moment.” –Booklist, starred review

“Clever wordplay and significant bounce give this title a true leg up… the book is replete with factual information about anglerfish, even spilling over into additional details and definitions at the end. The satisfaction of seeing Agatha May rewarded for her fixation is rivaled only by Song’s marvelous watercolor embodiment of Agatha May’s untidy, obsessive self…A paean to the up-and-coming chaotic, incipient scientists of the world.” –Kirkus

“Song captures the classroom’s energy with charged jet-black ink lines, gentle washes, and energetic crayon textures. Foley and her sister Morrison, diver for an aquarium’s curation department, wield smartly scanning verse for this story of triumph about a kid who shines when she can work independently.” –Publishers Weekly


“The lively rhyming text, packed with information about the deep sea and anglerfish in particular, will be enthusiastically received in a science-or ocean-themed story time, and marine biology enthusiasts will want to revisit it for the scientific vocabulary and fascinating facts … Neurodivergent kids—or anyone labeled “weird”—will find a reassuring message that their interests will give them a time to shine.” –BCCB

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2022

PreS-Gr 3—From the childlike doodles on the endpapers to the lyrical story itself, this book is a gem in so many ways. Agatha May is a hot mess in school. Mrs. Marino is on her all the time, and poor Agatha May is always fending off criticism. Then an assignment changes everything. Taking the stage, Agatha May shows them what she has researched, and, because her focus is completely on task, her classmates hang on every gross, odd word. Every single detail will also captivate readers. Agatha May is just like every one of the children who will read this book and who will recognize their classmates or themselves in the characters. The rhyme is engaging, the art is beautifully rendered, and the story is one that plays out in schools every day. In the end, Agatha May gets her time in the spotlight and an admission from her teacher that she recognizes her talent and wants her to succeed. The information on the Angler fish is correct, and the back matter offers even more. VERDICT This is a perfect fit for libraries, and a must buy for elementary schools. It is a lively read aloud and captures life in a classroom in a fun way.—Joan Kindig

School Library Journal

2022-09-14
There’s a new social outcast in town.

Messy, tardy, and dreamy, Agatha May is not what you’d call a teacher’s pet. Indeed, Mrs. Marino can hardly explain the class’s next assignment without constantly calling the girl out for her behavior. Students are instructed to choose a deep-sea creature to research; those with the most merit points get to select first, and Agatha fears someone will select her favorite. To her infinite pleasure, however, no one else chooses the anglerfish. No one researches their choice half as well as Agatha May either, and when she presents facts about this particular terror of the deep, everyone is entranced. And her teacher’s praise and encouragement prove to be a reward that will influence her future. Telling any story entirely in rhyme is always a risk, but clever wordplay and significant bounce give this title a true leg up. After all, who can resist such lines as, “ ‘Sorry, did you say a fishing pole?’ / asked Leandra Francesca. / ‘Well, the technical term is / a ‘bulbous esca.’ ” Meanwhile, the book is replete with factual information about anglerfish, even spilling over into additional details and definitions at the end. The satisfaction of seeing Agatha May rewarded for her fixation is rivaled only by Song’s marvelous watercolor embodiment of Agatha May’s untidy, obsessive self. Mrs. Marino is light-skinned, Agatha May is tan-skinned with dark hair, and the class is racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A paean to the up-and-coming chaotic, incipient scientists of the world. (facts, definitions) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews