Don’t Trust Fish
by Neil Sharpson; illus. by Dan Santat
Primary    Dial    40 pp.
4/25    9780593616673    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780593616680    $10.99

At the start, this picture book feels like a straightforward primer in both text and illustrations: this animal is a mammal because of these characteristics; this animal is a reptile because of these. But soon, something…fishy?…starts to happen: opinions creep in. Fish “don’t follow any rules,” making them harder to categorize—some live in salt water and some in fresh water, some eat seaweed, some eat other fish…and “some fish eat poor, innocent crabs who are just trying to have a nice time in the sea.” The lesson gets kookier (fish are accused of spying via toilets) and turns more and more toward fearmongering (“What are they learning in these ‘schools’? We have a right to know”), while the mixed-media art expands from staid vignettes to cartoonish full-bleed illustrations with varied perspectives and palettes, seemingly bouncing around with the mood of whoever is speaking. And who is speaking? By the time the answer is revealed, readers and listeners may have guessed—but along the way, they’ll have found some giggles, maybe a little fish information, and some food for thought about considering the source.

From the ">May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.