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Aquarium
A girl ventures to the water's edge, dreaming of a new friend. And, just like that, a beguiling red fish leaps into her life. But is friendship at sea these two can navigate together? From debut Argentinian author-illustrator Cynthia Alonso comes a wordless picture book about the timeless beauty of nature, the transcendent power of connection, and the importance of letting go.
34 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Cynthia Alonso
19 books3 followersCynthia Alonso is an illustrator & graphic designer from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
She studied Graphic Design at Buenos Aires University where she taught Typography courses for several years.
She is a self-taught illustrator actively being trained in workshops and seminars related to drawing, color and visual storytelling. (SVA Illustration & Visual Storytelling Summer Residency, NYC).
Her work has been selected and exhibited in the Society of Illustrators 58 Annual Exhibition (NYC) and in Bologna International Children's Book Fair (ITALY).
She studied Graphic Design at Buenos Aires University where she taught Typography courses for several years.
She is a self-taught illustrator actively being trained in workshops and seminars related to drawing, color and visual storytelling. (SVA Illustration & Visual Storytelling Summer Residency, NYC).
Her work has been selected and exhibited in the Society of Illustrators 58 Annual Exhibition (NYC) and in Bologna International Children's Book Fair (ITALY).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
January 31, 2021
Aquarium: A book where pictures without text tells a story…. This beautiful piece is artistically and poetically delivered by author-illustrator Cynthia Alonso. Cynthia is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her book is an exceptional body of work that has received best foreign novel in both France and Spain. In addition, it is a California Book Award Winner and St. Francis College Literacy Prize Recipient. And I found this book on School Library Review Journal.
This lovely wordless picture book is about a little girl who wonders to a waters edge, dreaming to find a new friend. Through the vibrant colored and textured illustrations, emotion of both connecting and letting go is felt. It is a story that perception and one’s own reflection are both interpreted through the eyes of the beholder.
Moreover, within this book of timeless emotion, one connects with a youthful mind and spirit. This wordless picture book is so powerful for the young learner to embrace opportunities for creative discussion of storytelling and facilitating a limitless imagination of wonder….
This body of work would be quite applicable as a mentor text for creative writing. It is a must for an educator’s bookshelf for young learners…
This lovely wordless picture book is about a little girl who wonders to a waters edge, dreaming to find a new friend. Through the vibrant colored and textured illustrations, emotion of both connecting and letting go is felt. It is a story that perception and one’s own reflection are both interpreted through the eyes of the beholder.
Moreover, within this book of timeless emotion, one connects with a youthful mind and spirit. This wordless picture book is so powerful for the young learner to embrace opportunities for creative discussion of storytelling and facilitating a limitless imagination of wonder….
This body of work would be quite applicable as a mentor text for creative writing. It is a must for an educator’s bookshelf for young learners…
March 29, 2019
What a magnificent book! This is FULL of fun and was a pleasure to read. Alonso has masterfully created a story using only her illustrations which takes the reader on a journey with the main character. The illustrations emit a warm, comforting and exciting feel which runs throughout the story. Definitely worth a read- brilliant!
January 18, 2019
A delightful tale of a young girl who loves the ocean and all it's creatures within it.
January 20, 2019
When a little red fish jumps out of the pond she is observing, the young girl in this lovely wordless picture-book takes this piscine visitor and builds a complex, imaginative aquarium that will allow them both to swim together. Unfortunately, the fish seems to have other ideas, and isn't content with his new surroundings. Eventually the girl returns the fish to his natural habitat, joining him instead of making him join her...
Although artist Cynthia Alonso is Argentine, it would appear that Aquarium was first published in Portugal, as Aquário. It isn't clear to me whether there is also an Argentine edition of this, but it's nevertheless good to see South American artists and children's book creators getting more exposure in the wider world, since I often find their work isn't given the attention it deserves. Leaving that aside, this was just a lovely book, featuring gorgeous artwork that carries the story quite well. I loved Alonso's use of color here, and appreciated the idea, implicit in the story, that it is important to respect nature, and leave wild animals in the wild. Recommended to fans of wordless picture-books, and to anyone looking for children's stories about our relationship to nature and/or using our imaginations.
Although artist Cynthia Alonso is Argentine, it would appear that Aquarium was first published in Portugal, as Aquário. It isn't clear to me whether there is also an Argentine edition of this, but it's nevertheless good to see South American artists and children's book creators getting more exposure in the wider world, since I often find their work isn't given the attention it deserves. Leaving that aside, this was just a lovely book, featuring gorgeous artwork that carries the story quite well. I loved Alonso's use of color here, and appreciated the idea, implicit in the story, that it is important to respect nature, and leave wild animals in the wild. Recommended to fans of wordless picture-books, and to anyone looking for children's stories about our relationship to nature and/or using our imaginations.
January 11, 2019
From Argentine debutant, Alonso comes a clever and refreshing story about a young child who is left with a great question and dilemma and finds, within herself, that she is more than capable of choosing the right path on her own.
In this wordless, thin-landscaped picture, much like Wave, a young girl ventures down the path from her home to a little wooden jetty to peer down into the clear waters and bask in the diverse and rich life beneath. There, in one beautiful spread, she imagines herself swimming amongst the fishes enjoying the sensation of being a party of this underwater world and being at one with it. When one plucky fish leaps out and onto the jetty, the girl quickly takes it back home and creates a rather haphazard aquarium in the hope of recreating her imaginings.
With digital-smooth, curved lines set on a limited palette of pinks, blues, yellows and purples, Alonso presents a vivid landscape which is purposefully minimal at times in order to draw us to those elements which interest the girl.
For me, the fact that the girl makes the decision to place the fish back where it came shows that this is a deeper, more hopeful book that might at first seem for we have a young child with foresight and conscience - an engaging debut.
In this wordless, thin-landscaped picture, much like Wave, a young girl ventures down the path from her home to a little wooden jetty to peer down into the clear waters and bask in the diverse and rich life beneath. There, in one beautiful spread, she imagines herself swimming amongst the fishes enjoying the sensation of being a party of this underwater world and being at one with it. When one plucky fish leaps out and onto the jetty, the girl quickly takes it back home and creates a rather haphazard aquarium in the hope of recreating her imaginings.
With digital-smooth, curved lines set on a limited palette of pinks, blues, yellows and purples, Alonso presents a vivid landscape which is purposefully minimal at times in order to draw us to those elements which interest the girl.
For me, the fact that the girl makes the decision to place the fish back where it came shows that this is a deeper, more hopeful book that might at first seem for we have a young child with foresight and conscience - an engaging debut.
October 20, 2020
A lovely wordless picture book telling the tale of a girl who befriends an animal. The story takes the reader on a journey of how the girl helps the fish and then decides that, although the girl doesn’t want him to, it’s time for the fish to go back and explore the great open sea.
May 28, 2018
Read for librarian book group
A girl brings a fish inside the house and proceeds to fill various recepticles with water for the fish to live.
I loved the illustrations and use of the color, but that black hose running through the various dishes and bowls, what was that? Was she using a soaker hose? How would the water get into the bowls? Also, as someone who has inadvertently killed a fish by not treating the tap water first, I can say with authority that the fish would be dead.
Basically, this is a good book for kids who lean more toward magical realism than practical storytelling.
A girl brings a fish inside the house and proceeds to fill various recepticles with water for the fish to live.
I loved the illustrations and use of the color, but that black hose running through the various dishes and bowls, what was that? Was she using a soaker hose? How would the water get into the bowls? Also, as someone who has inadvertently killed a fish by not treating the tap water first, I can say with authority that the fish would be dead.
Basically, this is a good book for kids who lean more toward magical realism than practical storytelling.
October 15, 2020
In her debut book Arquario, Cynthia Alonoso illustrates the story of a little girl looking to find a new friend in her wordless picture book. I learned about this book after it was acclaimed by award-winning Argentinian author, Maria Cristina Ramos. Alonso is an Argentinian author-illustrator who makes the pictures come alive in her ethereal illustrations. The images include vibrant colors that are intentionally used to contrast with the black outlines of the line and dot artwork. The vibrant use of color puts the reader right in the mouth of La Boca neighborhood in Argentina. The story focuses on a little girl and a red fish who literally leaps onto the page. The fish and the small girl become fast friends as they travel back to her home but she eventually realizes that the sea is where the fish is meant to be.
This book is perfect for readers who are a little reluctant or just enjoy browsing amazing illustrations. This book can also be used with students in younger grades and older grades to practice creating and revising predictions. Students can create imaginary plots, characters, and dialogue while reading. I’ve used children’s books like this with high school students to practice making predictions and inference because the lack of words forces them to think more deeply about what is happening in the story and what might happen next. Lastly, this wordless picture book gives students the opportunity to focus on the incredible illustrations and art presented in children’s literature. Overall, I recommend this book for all ages!
This book is perfect for readers who are a little reluctant or just enjoy browsing amazing illustrations. This book can also be used with students in younger grades and older grades to practice creating and revising predictions. Students can create imaginary plots, characters, and dialogue while reading. I’ve used children’s books like this with high school students to practice making predictions and inference because the lack of words forces them to think more deeply about what is happening in the story and what might happen next. Lastly, this wordless picture book gives students the opportunity to focus on the incredible illustrations and art presented in children’s literature. Overall, I recommend this book for all ages!
October 15, 2020
This is a lovely bright picture book without text which would be good for children across primary school. The girl goes down to the pond/lake near her home and sees the fish swimming and jumping. She imagines swimming with them in the lake and then she catches one in a bottle to take home. There she creates her own little aquarium to watch the fish before releasing it back into the wild. Its a good story which would link to ethics, nature and animals in the world around us, linking to science. This would also have lots of talk opportunities and possibly debate. The illustrations are relatively simple but very effective with the bold colours and tell the story really well. However, I got a bit confused with the middle bit in the aquarium where it looked like the girl was inside the fish tanks, so there would need to be lots of talk for this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2018
Beautifully illustrated and with a lovely conclusion, but perhaps a bit confusing for the intended age group. With guidance, children will understand the message that some things are meant to be wild and free. Pair with recent release Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell for an interesting discussion on aquariums and whether or not animals can thrive living in captivity.
May 15, 2019
Beautiful wordless book.
March 26, 2017
Absolutamente adorável e ilustrações lindíssimas.
February 23, 2018
Lovely illustrations!
October 7, 2019
it was really nice how the illustrator told a whole story about letting go and sacrifice using only illustrations and no words. You could tell what the main character was thinking. I really liked the 'calmness' of the book, the colours used weren't overwhelming but focused more on the story.
October 6, 2022
This is a beautiful wordless story. Originally published in Portugal, this wordless book is intriguing, easy to follow, but still begs the reader to use their imagination to fill in the gaps. I led a small group of 2nd graders in reading this book and they all came up with slight variations of the narration. Highly recommended for those fish lovers as well as people who appreciate the innocence of childhood.
June 7, 2018
This wordless picture book with a limited color palette resembles lithography in its pleasing combination of pencil line and color (...although the illustrator used pencil, pen, and digital rendering, not lithography).
Pink rocks and paths and an orange wood pier cause the tan skin and purple-blue hair of the child to come across as a neutral mid-tone against the blues of plants on land and in the water, which may allow diverse readers to identify with her.
Many will want to identify with her solitary walk to the lake, and her luck in having a fish jump into her path just when she’s imagining swimming with them.
The elaborate series of aquariums she constructs in her living room to please the fish and herself result in a flash of fear when the fish slips out of their shared pool onto the floor, so she dutifully and lovingly returns the fish to the lake.
The focus of the story on her convoluted and impractical aquarium looks like fun but runs contrary to the meditative nature-appreciation theme that motivates the child.
The pastoral setting adds to the feeling of dreamy unreality, which may appeal to the same children who reach for mermaid picture books. Also, the combination of her fish-print dress and fish-print bathing suit made me think this is some kind of fetishizing of fish and that made me uncomfortable.
My favorite parts were her dreaming of swimming with the fish. If the point is to show that her dream of doing that is far superior to the reality of bringing the actual fish home and trying to make an aquarium for it, then super! I think we have to test this theory out on young readers and let the children decide if it's effective.
Originally published in Portugal in 2017.
Pink rocks and paths and an orange wood pier cause the tan skin and purple-blue hair of the child to come across as a neutral mid-tone against the blues of plants on land and in the water, which may allow diverse readers to identify with her.
Many will want to identify with her solitary walk to the lake, and her luck in having a fish jump into her path just when she’s imagining swimming with them.
The elaborate series of aquariums she constructs in her living room to please the fish and herself result in a flash of fear when the fish slips out of their shared pool onto the floor, so she dutifully and lovingly returns the fish to the lake.
The focus of the story on her convoluted and impractical aquarium looks like fun but runs contrary to the meditative nature-appreciation theme that motivates the child.
The pastoral setting adds to the feeling of dreamy unreality, which may appeal to the same children who reach for mermaid picture books. Also, the combination of her fish-print dress and fish-print bathing suit made me think this is some kind of fetishizing of fish and that made me uncomfortable.
My favorite parts were her dreaming of swimming with the fish. If the point is to show that her dream of doing that is far superior to the reality of bringing the actual fish home and trying to make an aquarium for it, then super! I think we have to test this theory out on young readers and let the children decide if it's effective.
Originally published in Portugal in 2017.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2024
Featured on the International Literacy Foundations 2018 “International Children’s Books” annual review list, Aquarium, tells the story of a young girl who seeks to build her own aquarium. Written by Argentinian graphic design artist and author Cynthia Alonso, this wordless picture book was originally published in Portugal (as Aquário). In Aquarium, readers follow a young blue haired girl highlighting her love of fish through trying to raise her own fish—indoors! However, after our main character’s fish leaps out of her indoor aquarium, she realizes she may not be able to care for her new fishy friend and returns him to the sea.
Even though I read it as an e-book, Alonso’s illustration style is clear and unique in that she stays within a set color palette (blue, red, pink, yellow, and black) to tell this story. As our main character’s journey flows out of her imagination and into her world, she begins to build her own aquarium. During which, each page gets visually busier with Alonso adding multiple empty black outlined containers to each illustration. These pages in particular could offer teachers the ability to talk about big ideas like hard work and/or care and responsibility. Through her expressive illustration teachers can also use Aquarium to highlight and discuss emotions like sympathy and joy. Due to limited amount of characters I'm not sure how this book could be used to teach concepts around diversity, but it could help start the conversation with younger readers about how they play a role in the larger world around them.
Even though I read it as an e-book, Alonso’s illustration style is clear and unique in that she stays within a set color palette (blue, red, pink, yellow, and black) to tell this story. As our main character’s journey flows out of her imagination and into her world, she begins to build her own aquarium. During which, each page gets visually busier with Alonso adding multiple empty black outlined containers to each illustration. These pages in particular could offer teachers the ability to talk about big ideas like hard work and/or care and responsibility. Through her expressive illustration teachers can also use Aquarium to highlight and discuss emotions like sympathy and joy. Due to limited amount of characters I'm not sure how this book could be used to teach concepts around diversity, but it could help start the conversation with younger readers about how they play a role in the larger world around them.
March 13, 2018
A wordless book about a wonderful adventure. A young girl goes to a local pond to observe the life therein and comes home with a fish who has chosen her. In creating a world for the fish she opens her own imagination and ultimately returns the fish to its true habitat. Lots of imaginative illustrations taking us beyond the page and beyond the moment.
December 12, 2018
A wordless picture book about a girl who catches a fish. I feel some pages are difficult to understand and would need explaining to children. Could be used in schools to show how fish always need to be kept in water.
April 28, 2019
Un libro ideal para los más chiquitos.
Son únicamente dibujos, no tiene ni una sola palabra, pero no por eso transmite menos.
La autora logra comunicar UN MONTÓN solo con imágenes
Son únicamente dibujos, no tiene ni una sola palabra, pero no por eso transmite menos.
La autora logra comunicar UN MONTÓN solo con imágenes
April 21, 2018
Although this wordless picture book might seem at first to be a bit odd in some ways, it captures a fairly common experience in a unique way. Created with pencil and pen as well as digitally, the illustrations feature sumptuous blues representing water as well as detailed nature scenes. Readers will want to look at the images closely since they will see that the girl featured on its pages is wearing a dress and then a bathing suit with a fish motif, perfect for how the story plays out. The story opens with the girl heading down a small path to a pier on which she lies dreaming. When a small red fish leaps onto the dock she captures him in a plastic bottle and rushes home. There, she tries out various containers, seeking the best aquarium for her new friend, even filling a small wading pool for the two of them. While I'm not sure how she gets him back into that bottle, she returns the fish to the open water, having realized that there is nothing she can fashion for him that will replicate the ocean. She must let him go if he is to survive. The first set of end papers features various would-be aquariums, and the second set shows the girl with her eyes closed, and the fish, swimming in the water, both comfortable and content to be together but under circumstances most hospitable for the fish. Some readers will want to write the story that might accompany these illustrations while others may be reminded of the importance of all living things. While the girl goes to great efforts to keep her fishy friend with her on land, ultimately she knows that this is not to be. This is an impressive debut from an illustrator from Argentina.
December 2, 2019
There is an innocence to this story that I love, all this little girl wants is to explore the river with the fishes that live in it. We don’t know why; we just know that she does. Then when one fish jumps out onto the jetty she is laying on, she takes it home and instantly starts trying to make him an elaborate series of fish bowls to live in, an aquarium of sorts. Soon she realises his home is in the river, not with her and takes him back there. There’s nothing malicious in her intent, to me it’s like she just wanted her imagination to become real but when she realised it couldn’t, her compassion and maturity shone through.
The illustrations consist mainly of pastel colours and, to me, that adds to the softness of the story. Maybe it’s to reflect the girl’s personality; quite quiet and relaxed. This combined with the use of full pages bleeds means that we are immersed into her delicate world and we see it, the way she sees it. Even the endpapers are reflective of what happens within the story. At the beginning they consist of multiple fish being kept in a variety of makeshift aquariums and at the end, the fish are free in the river and the girl is swimming among them. She has gone from wanting to keep them in her world, to joining them in theirs.
The more times I read through this book, I wanted to know more about it. The questions I’m left asking are; why is she imagining escaping to the sea and swimming with these fishes? And why is she so determined to make this one fish feel at home in her house? Was the fish just looking for a companion too? It feels like there are quite a few more perspectives within this story that could be explored further.
The illustrations consist mainly of pastel colours and, to me, that adds to the softness of the story. Maybe it’s to reflect the girl’s personality; quite quiet and relaxed. This combined with the use of full pages bleeds means that we are immersed into her delicate world and we see it, the way she sees it. Even the endpapers are reflective of what happens within the story. At the beginning they consist of multiple fish being kept in a variety of makeshift aquariums and at the end, the fish are free in the river and the girl is swimming among them. She has gone from wanting to keep them in her world, to joining them in theirs.
The more times I read through this book, I wanted to know more about it. The questions I’m left asking are; why is she imagining escaping to the sea and swimming with these fishes? And why is she so determined to make this one fish feel at home in her house? Was the fish just looking for a companion too? It feels like there are quite a few more perspectives within this story that could be explored further.
July 13, 2018
A little girl heads down to the dock near the water to watch the fish, dreaming of one day swimming alongside many fish at the same time. When a small orange fish jumps out of the water, she catches it in a water bottle and runs home with it. With a black hose, lots of containers, and plants, she creates a new watery space for the fish. When she swims along with the little fish in her pool though, the fish jumps out into a puddle. In that moment, the girl decides to return the fish to the sea.
This wordless picture book beautifully explores a little girl’s connection to nature and her own desire to be part of it and have a piece of it for herself. Through the images, one knows that the little girl means no harm, only to celebrate the fish and her connection to it. Still, readers will know that it will be a problem if the fish is kept from his home for too long. The illustrations are full of the blues of the sea which contrasts with the rest of the scenery that is left barely sketched and uncolored. It is water that really brings the book alive, combined with trees and rushes. A beautiful look at connecting with nature by preserving it. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
This wordless picture book beautifully explores a little girl’s connection to nature and her own desire to be part of it and have a piece of it for herself. Through the images, one knows that the little girl means no harm, only to celebrate the fish and her connection to it. Still, readers will know that it will be a problem if the fish is kept from his home for too long. The illustrations are full of the blues of the sea which contrasts with the rest of the scenery that is left barely sketched and uncolored. It is water that really brings the book alive, combined with trees and rushes. A beautiful look at connecting with nature by preserving it. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
January 29, 2021
Aquarium: A book where pictures without text tells a story…. This beautiful piece is artistically and poetically delivered by author-illustrator Cynthia Alonso. Cynthia is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her book is an exceptional body of work that has received best foreign novel in both France and Spain. In addition, it is a California Book Award Winner and St. Francis College Literacy Prize Recipient.
This lovely wordless picture book is about a little girl who wonders to a waters edge, dreaming to find a new friend. Through the vibrant colored and textured illustrations, emotion of both connecting and letting go is felt. It is a story that perception and one’s own reflection are both interpreted through the eyes of the beholder.
Moreover, within this book of timeless emotion, one connects with a youthful mind and spirit. This wordless picture book is so powerful for the young learner to embrace opportunities for creative discussion of storytelling and facilitating a limitless imagination of wonder….
This body of work would be quite applicable as a mentor text for creative writing. It is a must for an educator’s bookshelf for young learners…
This lovely wordless picture book is about a little girl who wonders to a waters edge, dreaming to find a new friend. Through the vibrant colored and textured illustrations, emotion of both connecting and letting go is felt. It is a story that perception and one’s own reflection are both interpreted through the eyes of the beholder.
Moreover, within this book of timeless emotion, one connects with a youthful mind and spirit. This wordless picture book is so powerful for the young learner to embrace opportunities for creative discussion of storytelling and facilitating a limitless imagination of wonder….
This body of work would be quite applicable as a mentor text for creative writing. It is a must for an educator’s bookshelf for young learners…
October 21, 2020
Alonso’s wordless book opens with a girl in a summer dress heading down a path to a nearby pond. The surrounding hills are drawn in simple lines, the grass stippled with pencil. The pond and its underwater world, by contrast are drawn in colour, swarming with unconventional, printed plants and jumping fish. A close-up shows a plan taking place inside the girl’s head; she imagines swimming with a school of fish. One bright red fish leaps out of the water, and the girl takes it home, using an array of containers and hoses to create an exciting habitat, with the addition of an inflatable pool, the girl can splash with her fish. But when it leaps free, the girl realises that it’s unhappy. Often, parents tell children that wild creatures are happier where they belong. The little girl realises this on her own, and we watch as she sets aside her happiness for the sake of a smaller creature and places it back into its natural habitat.
June 16, 2018
Alonso’s wordless rendering of her character’s search for a fish to tank at the shoreline leads us through her wonderful seashore scapes, wonder, and imagination. Her use of color and shape—the dark silhouettes and the repetitive fish pattern of the girl’s dress are the most powerful—is the book’s visual backbone that succeeds in carrying along with the young girl of the story. The scene of the living room full of tanks, bowls, jars, cups, pitchers—for one fish—and a long hose, propels the story to its finish. Even the front and back inside covers are lovely in a repetitious, restful way.
June 21, 2018
Wild creatures are meant to be free and not held in captivity for human entertainment.
Argentinian illustrator Cynthia Alonso created a beautiful, wordless picture book, whose protagonist, a bright, creative little girl takes a walk to the pond, catches a joyful, red fish, takes it home, sets up a complex habitat, only to realise that the animal would be truly happy only in its natural environment.
No grown-ups around, at the end of a great adventure, the girl will learn by herself the significance of letting go, of true love and of respecting nature.
Argentinian illustrator Cynthia Alonso created a beautiful, wordless picture book, whose protagonist, a bright, creative little girl takes a walk to the pond, catches a joyful, red fish, takes it home, sets up a complex habitat, only to realise that the animal would be truly happy only in its natural environment.
No grown-ups around, at the end of a great adventure, the girl will learn by herself the significance of letting go, of true love and of respecting nature.
July 13, 2018
What a cute wordless picture book with a great message.
At first, I didn’t find the illustration style very appealing but it grew on me as I read.
The story tells of a girl who is admiring the ocean, she then captures a fish and brings it inside where she makes a little aquarium for it. But she realizes that the fish is all alone and that isn’t right she she returns it to the ocean. A great message about the importance of appreciating and finding the beauty in wildlife while leaving it in the wild where it belongs.
At first, I didn’t find the illustration style very appealing but it grew on me as I read.
The story tells of a girl who is admiring the ocean, she then captures a fish and brings it inside where she makes a little aquarium for it. But she realizes that the fish is all alone and that isn’t right she she returns it to the ocean. A great message about the importance of appreciating and finding the beauty in wildlife while leaving it in the wild where it belongs.
August 31, 2018
Spectacularly wonderful illustrations but a story that is initially confusing. It was hard for me to read what was happening. The inflatable pool was easy to miss, hard to understand why so many vessels of water. I think my take away is that a fish jumps onto the dock and the girl takes it home and creates an elaborate world for it - Many vessels, bubbles, etc. but when she joins the fish in her indoor aquarium it again leaps out and she realizes she needs to return it to it's habitat. Good for discussion with kids.
October 7, 2019
A thoughtful wordless picturebook which sees a young girl dream of being at one with and swimming alongside a beautiful shoal of fishes. When one outgoing fish happens to jump up and land beside the little girl, she realises that she can take it home and find a way for them to be together.
This is a quietly contemplative story which is made all the more powerful by the absence of words and the gently pace. Alonso's illustrations allow the reader to think alongside the protagonist, and reflect upon the morality of taking a fish away from it's home, however saddening that this may be.
This is a quietly contemplative story which is made all the more powerful by the absence of words and the gently pace. Alonso's illustrations allow the reader to think alongside the protagonist, and reflect upon the morality of taking a fish away from it's home, however saddening that this may be.
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