Review of The Fish That Flew

[Tamorie Hargro]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Fish That Flew" by Aya Mccurdy.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In The Fish That Flew, a short children’s book, Aya McCurdy crafts a poetic tale about a small fish with dreams of taking flight. As he lives mesmerized by the stars in the night sky, he wishes daily to be near them, transformed into a bird. When a star falls from above one night, the little fish jumps at the chance to make his dream come true.

The book is formatted as a long poem, each page containing a stanza of that poem. McCurdy presents her stanzas as three lines each, where the third line is longer and contains more syllables, giving the poem a fine rhythm. Her rhyme scheme is a simple and fun AAB CCB, and so on, pattern.

I enjoyed reading The Fish That Flew. McCurdy chose a rhythm and rhyme scheme that are both pleasing to the ear as well as approachable for young readers. It is consistent throughout, from the first to the last page, and never becomes confusing at any point. I believe that the book’s three-line stanzas were really meant to be sestains (six-line stanzas following, for example, the AABCCB pattern); however, McCurdy understood how to make her poetry easy to follow and appropriate for readers who may be newly exposed to poetry.

Furthermore, the storyline of this book is pleasant and entertaining. Accompanying nearly each page of text are illustrations which are hand drawn and colored with crayons and/or colored pencils. I found this extremely cute and informal, thinking that only a few advanced elements betray that these pictures were not drawn by a child.

If I must say anything against the book, it is that the book’s cover is poorly executed—a fuzzy-looking, blown-up picture of a fish and stars against a black background. Still, while this is not the most persuasive cover for a children’s book, I believe that it is appropriate for me to not judge this book by its cover.

Therefore, I rate The Fish That Flew 4 out of 4 stars. Since I found only one phrase which may or may not be grammatically correct depending on the reader, and found no errors in punctuation or spelling, I recognize that this book has been carefully crafted. I recommend this book to children, as it is easy enough for a child to read on their own, as well as to any reader who enjoys poetry and tales of individuals fulfilling their dreams.

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The Fish That Flew
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[Paully_]

I understand what is said about not judging a book by it's cover. Nonetheless, a book cover should be alluring enough to entice the readers. Thanks for the review.

[Tamorie Hargro]

I understand what is said about not judging a book by it's cover. Nonetheless, a book cover should be alluring enough to entice the readers. Thanks for the review.

Thank you, Paully, for your input! I totally understand where you're coming from. This book would not be the first one I'd choose off a shelf, and I imagine the same for a child. A good cover truly is an important factor for any book.