Fish Girl

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Fish Girl

Title:

Fish Girl

Author:

Napoli, Donna Jo, 1948- author.

Wiesner, David, author, illustrator.

Summary:

"Fish Girl, a young mermaid living in a boardwalk aquarium, has never interacted with anyone beyond the walls of her tank until a chance encounter with an ordinary girl, Livia. Their growing friendship inspires Fish Girl's longing for freedom, independence, and a life beyond the aquarium tank"-- Provided by publisher.

Physical Description:

182 pages : color illustrations ; 26 cm

Genre:

Comics (Graphic works)

Graphic novels.

Subject Term:

Sideshows -- Comic books, strips, etc

Self-actualization (Psychology) -- Comic books, strips, etc

Marine animals -- Comic books, strips, etc

Mermaids -- Comic books, strips, etc

Author(s):

Wiesner, David,

Publisher:

Clarion Books,

Publication Date:

2017

ISBN:

9780544815124

9780547483931

9780606398244

Publication Information:

New York : Clarion Books, [2017]

Call Number:

J NAPOLI

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003238915	Juvenile Graphic Novels	NAPOLI	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The triple Caldecott winner David Wiesner brings his rich visual imagination and trademark artistry to the graphic novel format in a unique coming-of-age tale that begins underwater. A young mermaid, called Fish Girl, in a boardwalk aquarium has a chance encounter with an ordinary girl. Their growing friendship inspires Fish Girl's longing for freedom, independence, and a life beyond the aquarium tank. Sparkling with humor and brilliantly visualized, Fish Girl's story will resonate with every young person facing the challenges and rewards of growing up.

Author Notes

Donna Jo Napoli was born on February 28, 1948. She received a B.A. in mathematics, an M.A. in Italian literature, and a Ph.D. in general and romance linguistics from Harvard University. She has taught on the university level since 1970, is widely published in scholarly journals, and has received numerous grants and fellowships in the area of linguistics.

In the area of linguistics, she has authored five books, co-authored six books, edited one book, and co-edited five books. She is also a published poet and co-editor of four volumes of poetry. Her first middle grade novel, Soccer Shock, was published in 1991. Her other novels include the Zel, Beast, The Wager, Lights on the Nile, Skin, Storm, Hidden, and Dark Shimmer. She is also the author of several picture books including Flamingo Dream, The Wishing Club: A Story About Fractions, Corkscrew Counts: A Story About Multiplication, The Crossing, A Single Pearl, and Hands and Hearts. She has received several awards including the New Jersey Reading Association's M. Jerry Weiss Book Award for The Prince of the Pond and the Golden Kite Award for Stones in Water.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-8-Children's literature powerhouses Napoli and Wiesner have teamed up to create a striking graphic novel. On the boardwalk, visitors flock to Ocean Wonders, a tank filled with a shark, fish, an octopus, and a turtle-and the star attraction, the elusive Fish Girl. Though kids stare into the water, they catch only a glimpse of the mermaid's fin or arm. Fish Girl's owner and protector, who calls himself Neptune, exerts a Svengali-like control over his mute ward, claiming that he once ruled the ocean and forbidding her from fully revealing herself. But when the young mermaid befriends a girl who visits the tank, she begins to question Neptune's stories about her past and to dream about escaping. Employing inspired composition, a masterly sense of perspective and angles, and a palette dominated by vivid blues and greens, Wiesner submerges readers in Fish Girl's world, conveying both her affection for her home and her companion Octopus and her desire to know life outside her constricting tank. The realistic images and controlled linework hint at a sense of magic below the surface. However, the narrative may stymie readers. Many questions go unanswered (for instance, how does Fish Girl trade her scales and fins for legs when she leaves the water?), and the book ends on a somewhat ambiguous note. VERDICT A gorgeous though cryptic offering; hand this modern-day fairy tale to those who appreciate folklore-influenced fiction.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In Wiesner and Napoli's unsettling tale of self-discovery, a young mermaid who stars in a boardwalk aquarium show begins to question her circumstances after a human girl offers her friendship. Though she can't talk and has never been outside, Mira-as her new friend Livia christens her-slowly realizes that the show's domineering owner, Neptune, may not be as benevolent or godlike as he seems. "The scientists will take you to a lab," he threatens, warning her against being seen. "They'll cut you open." With Livia's encouragement, help from her fellow sea creatures, and her own extra-human powers, Mira delivers herself from her captor. Napoli (Dark Shimmer) and Wiesner (Mr. Wuffles!) create a plot that crackles, and Wiesner's graceful, classically proportioned artwork makes the story's fantastical elements clear and believable. But Neptune's catalog of classic psychological abuse seems to belong to an edgier tale. Livia's goofy presence counterbalances the menace ("This is a cheese and lettuce sandwich," she explains to Mira, holding up a drawing), and Mira's sidekick-a huge, brooding octopus-offers her the love that Neptune withholds. Ages 10-12. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.