School of Fish by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mike Moran

Photo courtesy of Tanya Prax

Tanya Prax is a Youth Services Librarian with Arapahoe Libraries in Colorado and has been with the library for 2.5 years. She is from Minnesota and is a lover of the lakes, mountains, sports, and adventures. Her favorite thing about working in libraries is opening people up to the possibilities that libraries can provide. 

Image from School of Fish by Jane Yolen,
illustrated by Mike Moran

Jane Yolen and Mike Moran give us a fabulous new book in the form of an early reader with School of Fish. The rhyming text and colorful illustrations tell the story of a young fish’s first day of school. He is nervous but excited! He is dealing with all the things a child would go through on their first day of school: shiny, new school supplies, how to ride the school bus, missing his parents, and bothersome classmates. He is feeling lonely until he finds another little fish who is just as overwhelmed as he is, and he starts to feel much more confident.

Image from School of Fish by Jane Yolen, 
illustrated by Mike Moran

This book is targeted towards kids ages 4-6 and I think that is just right. Kids will be able to relate to the story as they may be starting school and are often stepping into the unknown. The illustrations are bright and eye catching. They do a great job of showing little fish’s emotions as he navigates his day. The text is bold and brief on each page, with plenty of white space. The text also rhymes throughout the entire story making for an energetic reading experience. The characters include a variety of sea creatures that kids will have fun recognizing. My one concern is that the book does introduce a few words that kids may not know yet, such as “fingerling” and “electric” but for the most part the text is simple. The “new” words could contribute to a learning experience for the reader.

Photo courtesy of Tanya Prax

I was able to read this book with a 5-year-old girl that I was babysitting for the weekend. Right when I pulled it out she saw the cover and said, “OOH, is that about a fish in school?” The cover alone made her excited for the story and gave clues to what it was going to be about. She said her favorite part was when the fish was figuring out that the scary shark was just the school bus. In her words, “Oh, the shark just wants to take him to school! How cute!”

Overall, I think that Jane Yolen and Mike Moran’s School of Fish is a great contender for the Geisel Award with its fun illustrations, relatable and intriguing story, and simple and straightforward text.