DO YOU SPEAK FISH?

A gregarious little boy is annoyed that the animals and insects he greets won’t speak to him in return.

When the unnamed boy, who presents Black, says hello to a fish, he is annoyed that it doesn’t respond. The boy calls the fish rude and walks away. He happens upon a lion. After he says hello and the lion doesn’t speak, the boy screams at the lion, who roars at him in turn. Next, he meets a bee who doesn’t speak and also doesn’t like being yelled at, so it buzzes and chases him. He continues on until he meets a tree who is fluent in Kid. The tree tells him that the animals can’t communicate with him because he doesn’t speak their languages and they don’t speak his. The boy thinks to wonder how he can understand the tree, and the tree informs him, “I learned to speak Kid from a frog.” The absurdity of the premise guarantees laughs from readers. They will enjoy watching the boy practice speaking with the animals in their languages, especially the lion, who can’t stop laughing (readers will find out why at the very end). The slick cartoon illustrations are vivid and eye-catching, the pacing of the page turns timed well for humor. The boy seems to have no teeth (a dramatic contrast to the lion’s dentition), which may be an additional point of humor for readers.

A funny read-aloud with a great message.