Good-bye, Fish by J. Koppens

Abstract

Koppens, Judith . Good-bye, Fish. Trans. Clavis Publishing  Inc.  Illus. Eline Van Lindenhuizen.  New York: Clavis Publishing Inc., 2013. Print

Good-bye, Fish is another book from the Animal Square series.  The series was originally published in Dutch and follows six animals: kitty, mouse, monkey, giraffe, rabbit, and dog.  The front cover displays the six animals with a caption describing their personalities.  These animal characters take care of each other, mimicking family or friends. This shows children that everyone helps each other, even if there are differences.  This specific book, however, only focuses on three of the six Animal Square animals.

The content of Good-bye, Fish is a wonderful resource for teaching young children about the death of a pet.  When Kitty sees her fish not swimming, she worries.  Dog tries to help Kitty with ideas to get the fish swimming again.  Giraffe, in a matter of fact style, states that the fish has died.  This book does a brilliant job tackling feelings of loss; by stating it is “hard to lose someone you love”.  Dog and Giraffe help Kitty bury the fish in the garden explaining that the grave can be a special place to remember fish everyday.  This book helps children identify their feelings of sadness when dealing with death, as the story ends with hope.

Good-bye Fish is for preschool aged children; the pages are sturdy making it a perfect book for kids to read and re-read.  The illustrations are done with softness and are colourful.  You can see Kitty’s sadness through her tears.  This is an excellent book for anyone who is dealing with grief.

Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars
Reviewer: Catherine Wojcichowsky

Catherine Wojcichowsky is a teacher with Edmonton Catholic Schools and is currently completing her master’s degree in Elementary Education.  She loves children’s literature, which she has the pleasure of enjoying it with her three year old son, Benjamin.