The Pout-Pout Fish and the Can't Sleep Blues by Deborah Diesen - ADVISABLE

The Pout-Pout Fish and the Can’t Sleep Blues by Deborah Diesen, illustrated by Dan Hanna.  PICTURE BOOK Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018.  $18.  9780374304034  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Mr. Fish has trouble falling asleep, so he goes around asking his friends for advice.  As each friend tells him different strategies to get sleepy, such as counting sheep, wearing specific pajamas or blinking your eyes a certain amount of times, his friends all fall fast asleep.  Mr. Fish is still awake though, until one friend encourages him to come up with his own routine and it works.  

The Pout-Pout Fish books cover all sorts of concerns that young kids might have and this is no different.  The sing-song rhythm makes this a good read aloud for bedtime.  I liked that the book encourages kids to come up with their own routines for bedtime, putting that power into the kid’s hands.  

C. Peterson