Children's Book Reviews

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Fish by L. S. Matthews
Delacorte Press, June, 2004
Hardcover, 196 pages
ISBN: 0385731809
Ages 9-12
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

Fish by L. S. Matthews

Fish is a story related by a child as a child would remember it -- with all the details demanded by the adult world left out. What the child leaves in the story are the important things such as how the fish looked and the very important relationships that the adults have with each other and with the events that occur.

Told by a narrator of unknown gender and age, Fish traces the harrowing journey by a child nicknamed Tiger, his parents (who are aid workers), a wise guide, his donkey and a fish that the storyteller has rescued from a muddy pond that is drying up after the rainy season. War is coming and it is crucial that the family get out of the country. The reader is never told the location of the country, the nationality of the protagonists (though, persumably they are English) or the time of year. What the reader is allowed to see is what a child sees and feels as he suffers through the trials of a long frightening journey through a hostile land scorched by drought, in order to get home. Soldiers belonging to a militia at first seem friendly, but later become hostile as they realize the hostage value of the family. The parents and the guide are observed by the child in the matter of fact way of children who understand on a perceptive level, but who have little power to influence the outcome of the events that rule their lives.

The vagueness of the child as to the country they are fleeing and the ethnicity of its inhabitants raises this simple story to a universal saga of all children whose lives are damaged by the politics of adults. The fish becomes an icon of hope as it depends on its rescuer to find a better river for it to swim in, and the story told by the child makes a powerful impact on the reader. Although Fish is the first book written by L. S. Matthews for young adults, it is a simple and poignant story that leads the reader to consider the plight of children in a war-torn world.

--Sarah Reaves White

It's Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work With My Control Panel by Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrated by Laura Cornell
Joanna Cotler Books, September, 2004
Picture Book, 40 pages
ISBN: 0060080957
Ages 4-8
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

Ah, the perils of being five! The little boy in Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell's new book would prefer to be dirty, not wait his turn, and bite the boy next to him who cut in line. But being five means a major change: going to school, which requires mastering the art of self-control. "It's hard to be five. It takes Superman skill. Sitting in circles. Sitting so still." The precocious five year-old must learn to say please and thank you, and wash his face -- the illustrations conveying the young narrator's conviction that his parents are overly obsessed with the cleanliness of his face. But there are fun things about being five, too "I walk to karate. I walk with closed eyes. I walk like a ninja chopping bad guys." Laura Cornell's vibrant watercolors are full of emotion and energy, and they reflect the chaos that is a group of five year-olds, especially when there seems to be a lack of adult supervision. This is a wonderful addition to Ms. Curtis' growing body of children's books, which present an optimistic view of the world, while pointing out those little challenges that we all face along the way to adulthood.

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Children's Book Reviews

Fish by L. S. Matthews

It's Hard to be Five: Learning How to Work With My Control Panel by Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrated by Laura Cornell