A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer

Illustrated by P.D. Eastman. Random House, New York, 1989.
Hardcover edition, 64 pages, ISBN 0-394-90023-5.

Otto, an innocuous goldfish purchased from Mr. Carp's pet store, becomes the sensational victim of a young boy's good intentions in this hilarious cautionary tale. Despite Mr. Carp's dire admonition to "never feed him a lot.... Never more than a spot, or something may happen! You never know what...", the boy feeds poor Otto an entire box of fish food and the adventure begins. Otto starts growing and growing, outgrowing his bowl, pots and pans, the bathtub, and the basement (now filled with water). Emergency workers are called in to haul Otto to the municipal pool, where angry swimmers are temporarily displaced. Finally, Mr. Carp reappears garbed in scuba gear to save the day by mysteriously shrinking Otto back to his original size. The drama draws to an inevitable close with the young man solemnly resolving never to feed Otto too much ever again, highlighting the unintended consequences of not following directions.

Palmer in this adaptation of her husband, Theodore Geisel's Gustav the Goldfish, creates a wonderful sense of panicked urgency in this little morality tale. The characters, portrayed in green and orange-toned drawings by Eastman, are perfectly portrayed with astonished facial expressions and broad gestures which heighten the sense of crisis.

Even though this is essentially an early reader for elementary-aged children, I love to read this exciting story aloud dramatically to smaller story hour groups. Although it is a little long, the action moves forward very quickly and rivets attention. The small book format limits the size of group which can easily see pictures.