Not Norman: A Goldfish Story - Hardcover

Bennett, Kelly

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763623849 ISBN 13: 9780763623845

Publisher: Candlewick, 2005

Synopsis

With wry humor and lighthearted affection, author Kelly Bennett and illustrator Noah Z. Jones tell an unexpected—and positively fishy—tale about finding the good in something you didn't know you wanted.

"Don't think that just because you made me laugh, I'm going to keep you," I tell him. "Tomorrow, you're outta here."

Norman the goldfish isn't what this little boy had in mind. He wanted a different kind of pet—one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a "good pet," things don't go as he planned. Could it be that Norman is a better pet than he thought?

About this title

About the Author:

Kelly Bennett loves fish. "Fish are fun and funny," she says. "Just watching them makes me laugh." When she's not writing, Kelly creates tile mosaics and digs in her garden. She has two grown children, Max and Lexi, and lives in Texas with her husband, Curtis, and their goldfish—whom she would never trade.

Noah Z. Jones loves drawing fish of all shapes and sizes, but especially smallish orange ones named Norman. This is his first children's book. He lives in coastal Maine with his wife, Diane, and their tuna-lovin' cat, Mabel.

From Booklist:

K-Gr. 3. The African American boy who narrates this boy-meets-fish story wants a pet for his birthday, but not a goldfish. Too bad. Though he suspects that Norman is the lamest, tamest pet around, he takes his fish to school to "talk him up real good during Show-and-Tell" in hopes that someone else will want him. But after cleaning Norman's bowl, rescuing him from puppies, and noticing that Norman listens to him talk and even quiets his fear of night noises, he realizes that there is no pet he would rather have. Repeated several times during the story, the title phrase "Not Norman" takes on a new shade of meaning in the verbally clever turnaround that concludes this amusing picture book. Distilled to essential shapes and flat colors, the lively digital artwork expresses both action and emotion with flair. This eye-catching book makes a satisfying read-aloud choice for pet day or any day. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0763623849
• ISBN 13: 9780763623845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Jones Noah Z.