{"id":43511,"date":"2024-03-25T22:26:37","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T02:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=43511"},"modified":"2024-03-25T22:26:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T02:26:37","slug":"review-of-the-fish-of-small-wishes-written-by-elana-k-arnold-illustrated-by-magdalena-mora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=43511","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Fish of Small Wishes, written by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Magdalena Mora"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Fish of Small Wishes<\/em><\/p>\n

written by Elana K. Arnold
\nillustrated by Magdalena Mora<\/p>\n

Roaring Brook Press, 2024. 36 pages.
\nReview written March 25, 2024, from a library book.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This lovely picture book tells a modern version of an old fairy tale that’s child-centered and satisfying.<\/p>\n

As the book opens, Kiki Karpovich notices that all the other kids in her neighborhood are playing together, and she’s pretending not to mind. Then she sees a large goldfish floundering on the sidewalk. The fish moves its dry lips, asking for help, so Kiki springs into action.<\/p>\n

She picks up the fish, rushes up the stairs into her home, puts the fish in the bathtub, and fills the tub with water.<\/p>\n

Then the fish thanks her! With quiet watery, bubbly words.<\/p>\n

The fish says he can grant her a wish to thank her, but when she wishes for lots of friends, he sadly reveals that he is a fish of small wishes. Her wish is too big, and she’ll have to think of something smaller.<\/p>\n

Kiki thinks of two more wishes, always with the same answer. By that time, the fish is outgrowing the tub. Kiki gets to work trying to dig a pond for the fish in the courtyard. When the task is too big, she has the courage – for the fish’s sake – to ask for help. The whole neighborhood comes together to make a new fishpond.<\/p>\n

And Kiki’s wishes are granted!<\/p>\n

It’s just lovely the way Kiki’s helpful kindness is it’s own reward. Lots to talk about here, a satisfying story arc, and bright, colorful pictures all make this picture book a great big win. It’s targeted to young elementary kids, but the language is simple enough for preschoolers to enjoy it just as much.<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/fish_of_small_wishes.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

What did you think of this book?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fish of Small Wishes written by Elana K. Arnold illustrated by Magdalena Mora Roaring Brook Press, 2024. 36 pages. Review written March 25, 2024, from a library book. Starred Review This lovely picture book tells a modern version of an old fairy tale that’s child-centered and satisfying. As the book opens, Kiki Karpovich notices […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-picture-book-review","category-starred-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43514,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43511\/revisions\/43514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}