Pout Pout Fish Deborah Diesen Reviews Summary

Book Content and Themes

Pros:

• "The rhymes are really nice and feel well-thought-out, unlike a lot of the cheap, simple rhyming in other kids books."
• "This book is about optimism and literally nothing else the negative comments are implying."
• "The transformative journey of Mr. Pout-Pout Fish instills a valuable lesson about resilience and the potential for positive change."
• "It teaches children the value of kindness and compassion."
• "It promotes a positive attitude and finding your place in the world."
• "It's a great lesson to learn that you may not find your true self right away and that others can bring out the best in you."
• "It teaches children about the influence of attitude on their interactions with others and promotes the idea that one has the power to shape their own narrative."

Cons:

• "I don't think the idea of teaching my son to kiss others without their consent."
• "I don't think the message that you have to be happy and cheerful in order to have friends is a good one."
• "One star for nice illustrations. Otherwise, this book has so many terrible and antiquated messages happening within its pages."
• "Second, CONSENT!!! Oh my goodness, even if the stranger doing the kissing is female, it’s still so so so so wrong! No. No. No."
• "Unfortunately the narrative structure seems an afterthought and has a whiff of Red Pill entitlement."
• "Wow... where to begin... This very popular book has cute illustrations and a nice rhyming pattern, but that simply can’t save it from its incredibly out of touch story with a possibly dangerous message for impressionable young children."
• "Okay I’m so confused why this book has great reviews. It’s absolutely awful with horrible messages to children!"

Illustrations and Design

Pros:

• "The illustrations are very good too. I would suggest the board book version which is nearly indestructible."
• "The author uses engaging descriptive words not often found in board books."
• "These smaller size board books are sturdy and easy for little ones to hold and carry."
• "The illustrations are cute."
• "The pictures were captivating, and their responses were great."
• "The whimsical illustrations by Dan Hanna complement the storyline beautifully, depicting the underwater world and its lively inhabitants with vibrant colors and expressive characters."
• "The illustrations are colorful and interesting, and the words are fun and have a good kind of rhythm to them."

Cons:

• "You can not increase the font and it is very difficult to read on the Fire which is a huge disappointment considering I paid enough for the download!"
• "However, the description says it's a hardcover book. What we received is a board book."
• "One of the pages in the board book was upside down, which was super embarrassing since I got it for a friend’s baby shower."
• "I was really disappointed when it came. I ordered the board book version and the book corners are smashed in and the book is just in rough condition in general."
• "Our book came damaged so that was disappointing."
• "I do not know how to contact the seller. packaging was damaged and both books I ordered had dings. Books are for a friend's baby shower and must be in perfect condition."
• "This is a really cute story, but my copy is missing 2 pages!"

Readability and Engagement

Pros:

• "Since then, they have read it to their grandchildren every single day, at the request of the kids."
• "So I like this book. I enjoy reading it up my son."
• "The Rhyming makes it fun for US to read."
• "We read it weekly, and have had it since Christmas. 5 months of reading it daily or weekly and we still aren't tired of it."
• "We love reading this book out loud to our seven month old daughter! It offers some fun vocabulary, rhymes, has lots of opportunities to do voices."
• "For kids who aren't yet learning to read, the text has a nice sing song beat that is fun to listen to."
• "The repetition and rhythm not only captivate young readers but also make it an enjoyable read-aloud experience for parents."

Cons:

• "I wasn't a fan of the constant repetition in this book. I found it boring and annoying."
• "However, for a board book, there are soo many words!"
• "Some of the vocabulary words are way over a three-year old’s grasp (without an explanation)."
• "I'm surprised by the 5 star reviews! I was really excited to read this to my daughter but the story is really bad without a plot."
• "It is a terrible thing to say to someone that 'no one wants to see your unhappy face' this is basically what octopus says and all other sea creatures criticize him for not smiling."
• "I don't think it's a great idea to read my son a narrative in which people are constantly haranguing this poor depressed fish about how he should put a smile on that pretty face because there's nothing to be sad about..."
• "We only read this book once. Not sure what the moral is supposed to be here."