Review: I Am a Big Fish

By Susie Lee Jin

New York: Simon Spotlight, 2026. Easy Reader.

When pufferfish insists that she's "a big fish," the other sea creatures are quick to one-up her. Shrimp is bigger than pufferfish, and octopus is bigger than shrimp. All of their bosting is quickly forsaken when a shark comes by, looking for "a big fish" for his meal. Pufferfish's ability to quickly become "a big fish" ends up saving the other creatures from a hungry shark and pufferfish is extremely glad she can be a big fish...when she wants to be.

This book has everything I want out of an easy reader. The words are easily decodable–relying on mostly sight words and words with short-vowels flanked by consonant blends. The story is told entirely through speech bubbles, promoting reading out loud with or without a partner. Lastly, the story is fun! Filled with aquatic puns and a sweet story of knowing who you are, this is easily my favorite book to recommend to kids learning how to read.

Comments

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