Just So Stories

Walker Books Australia

March 2025

ISBN13:9781760656973

Australia RRP:$25.99

New Zealand RRP:$27.99

Okay so it’s not a saltwater fish – but remember Don’t Trust Fish! – they can be either salt or fresh water. This one is a fun rhyming book that will add greatly to your collection of ‘pet’ books.

If it’s wet, it isn’t a pet!
You can play with a puppy and snuggle a bunny, but as much as you wish, you can’t pat a fish.

All of this is true. Fish are not the cuddliest. You can’t ride them or throw a ball to them. You can’t curl up with them all cosy in your bed. You can’t teach them to talk or how to fetch. This little girl has been wishing and wishing but definitely not ‘fishing’.

So she is far from impressed when her wishing results not in a puppy, kitten, rabbit, hamster, pony or even a pig. Nope, she gets stuck with a fish. But, as it happens, and she starts to watch her fish, she begins to realise that, actually, is quite a good pet. Interesting and versatile, swishy fishiness and sleek scaliness and learning to care for her fish and its tank is a new skill. So, all in all, it doesn’t matter if you can’t pat a fish because it’s still an excellent pet.

You will, no doubt, have many Smalls who will delight in a plethora of pet anecdotes after reading this one. Team it with older titles like A Pet for Mrs Arbuckle, I Wanna Iguana or I Want a Pet alongside newer ones such as The Truck Cat or Too Many Dogs and let the wild pet rumpus begin.

This is a topic that never fails to please your kiddos and there is so much to be gained from digging into this theme. The persuasive language and speech, the concepts of responsibility and caring for living creatures and the joy we all gain from our pets.

And, if you’re lucky enough to still be able to have a class pet, why not make it a fish? They certainly are a lot safer than classroom mice [memories of my first class way back in the early 90s! yes, we had babies and luckily found homes for them all!].

Ruth Paul’s delightful illustrations are a fine match for her beautifully cadenced rhymes and I’m giving this a 5 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟rating for Smalls from around 3/4 years upwards.