I Used to Be a Fish
by Tom Sullivan; illus. by the author
Primary    Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins    48 pp.
10/16    978-0-06-245198-9    $17.99

A simple, cartoonlike fish prompts musings on the history of human evolution. The text fancifully traces a fish in the water who “got tired of swimming” all the way up in its evolution to a human boy who can fly. With a smart sense of humor and a creative sense of wonder, younger readers are introduced to the cool parts of evolution: that “we” were once furry creatures who “liked swinging through trees and eating their fruit”; cave people; and even other animals’ prey. Sullivan uses a Seuss-like style and format, with large-font stanzas centered on pages that face illustrations employing three high-contrasting colors (blue, black, and red) on generous white backgrounds. The spare text is deceptively simple: there’s a lot of science behind statements such as “One day there was a BOOM! / And things got a little crazy.” It all works; although there is artistic license, the science stays on track. To keep fully grounded in fact, don’t skip the all-important appended author’s note, which directly addresses the text’s artistic liberties (“Evolution doesn’t happen because a creature wants it to!”).

From the November/December 2016 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.