DO FISH FART?

At long last, a considered answer to the question on every third-grader’s lips—plus more lake-related facts and fancies.

Whittling 3,000 queries submitted by Canadian schoolchildren down to a few dozen, Thomas enlists a crew of experts to explain why water is wet, how fish can drown, the ecological impact of the “Rockin’ Duo” P (phosphates) and N (nitrates), fish sex and other life processes (“fish gotta pee”), whether lake monsters exist, and the effects of soap, candy, Red Bull, rubber tires, and other foreign substances on lake ecosystems. Ouseley shoehorns fanciful cartoon fish, birds, and animals onto pages crowded with splashy photos of divers, fish teeth, children (mostly light-skinned, where skin is visible), plus zebra mussels and other native or invasive flora and fauna. The author answers a final question—“What will the Great Lakes look like when we are grown up?”—with a cogent question of her own: “What choices will you make?” Leads to recommended websites or other resources for young eco-activists wouldn’t have gone amiss, but readers will likely be motivated to seek some out on their own.

Informed and respectful, if sometimes speculative, responses, even to silly questions. As to the titular one, it’s “and how!” (index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)