I Am Not a Fish!

by Peter Raymundo, Peter Raymundo (Illustrator), Chris Mayers (Read by)

Overview

For fans of Ryan T. Higgins and Jory John comes a humorous and "splashy" story from a former Disney animator, about a jellyfish with an identity crisis who learns how to be himself with a little help from friends.

Edgar is a jellyfish, but he doesn't look, act, or feel very much like a "fish." With a little help though from some friendly starfish, Edgar realizes that labels aren't important, and he should celebrate what makes him unique!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525554608
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
File size:	39 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Peter Raymundo was 21 years old when he went to work for Walt Disney Studios as part of their Feature Animation Division. There he drew (and drew and drew) for films such as Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch and Mulan. Besides I Am Not a Fish, Pete is also the author-illustrator of the picture book The Monkey and the Bee, as well as the Third Grade Mermaid chapter book series. Pete draws inspiration from the ocean and says it gives him "an endless backdrop for fun and meaningful stories." He and his family live in Celebration, Florida.

Editorial Reviews

Delivered with tentacle-in-cheek buoyancy.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2019-04-28
A jellyfish talks through identity issues with help from an undersea support group.

Addressing a diverse and understandably sympathetic group of sea stars (later joined by a sea horse), Edgar delivers an indignant monologue on how a jellyfish is nothing like a "fish," lacking bones, scales, and gills. Moreover (as Edgar rightly points out), a jellyfish looks more like a white plastic shopping bag than the colorful marine life that otherwise populates Raymundo's seascapes. Not only do other denizens of the deep like narwhals and hammerhead sharks have fancy or at least logical names, but having stinging tentacles rather than fins makes it hard to play or even keep up with fishy friends. It would be unfair to accuse Edgar of "overthinking" the issue too, because like all jellyfish, Edgar doesn't have a brain either. The extended rant comes to a sudden end, though, with the discovery that a jellyfish is really good at one thing—floating—and the penny drops and Edgar's anthropomorphic features light up: "No matter WHAT I'm called… / I am still ME!" Edgar concludes by congratulating the likewise-smiling invertebrate audience for making "someone feel like… / a STAR!"

Not exactly deep waters, but the message is delivered with tentacle-in-cheek buoyancy. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews