CM Magazine: Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 1 . . . . September 8, 2000

Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish.

Eugenie Fernandes. Illustrated by Henry Fernandes.
Markham, ON: Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2000.
30 pp., pbk., $6.99.
ISBN 0-590-51737-6.

Subject Headings:
Fishing-Juvenile fiction.
Pets-Juvenile fiction.
Home-Juvenile fiction.

Preschool - grade 3 / Ages 3 - 8.

Review by Catherine Hoyt.

*** /4

excerpt:

"Oh, no," cried Little Fish. "I want him for a pet."
"What about the last person you had for a pet?" said Father Fish. "You didn't take care of it, and you know what happened."
"I know," said Little Fish. "But this time I'll take good care of the person. Please may I keep him?"

Amos finds that ordinary isn't so bad after all. One day while fishing, Amos' life is turned upside down by an extraordinary event. Amos did not catch a fish; an amazing fish caught Amos. This amazing fish took Amos home and kept him as a pet. But, because Little Fish's pet is not properly cared for, Mother Fish takes Amos out of the person bowl and throws him back. When Amos arrives back home, he is happy with his wonderful, but ordinary, life.
This Fernandes team does a great job on the illustrations which are rendered in acrylics and coloured pencils. The fish are human-like in full colour detail. Children will delight in this "turnabout" story. I look forward to using this humourous tale in an upcoming "Fish" storytime where I'm sure it will be a hit. Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish would be a nice addition to classroom read-aloud and bedtime collections.

Recommended.

Catherine Hoyt is the Curator of the Eileen Wallace Children's Literature Collection at the University of New Brunswick.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - September 8, 2000.