It you have a little pout-pout kid (and who doesn’t at least some of the time?), this book might be the cure. This rhyming tale about a grumpy fish who is determined to be unhappy has a cute ending that both my 3 and 5 year olds enjoyed.
Title: The Pout-Pout Fish
Author: Deborah Diesen
Illustrator: Dan Hanna
Publication Year: 2008
Website: deborahdiesen.com
Age Group: Preschool
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)
Comments: I’m clearly late on the Pout-Pout Fish bandwagon as there seems to be a whole series of Pout-Pout books that I’d never heard of until recently. However, my kids and I REALLY enjoyed this book. It has a rhyming, lyrical, repetitive quality with bright, colorful pictures that make it perfect for preschoolers. What I loved most about this book is the ending. Basically, the story is about a gloomy fish who spreads the “dreary wearies” because he has a “pout-pout face”. In the end, spoiler alert, another fish gives him a big smooch and he becomes a kiss-kiss fish. Now when my 3 year old is acting like a little fuss bucket, I ask her if she’s being a “pout-pout fish” and chase her around to give her a big kiss. I know this book makes her happy, because recently she suffered a crushing blow at our local library when she got to spin the prize wheel and the needle landed on “free book”. This was devastating, because her older brother, who spun the wheel before her, got a free stuffed animal. Her prize was the board book, Smile, Pout-Pout Fish (affiliate link) – basically an abridged, extremely short, but still cute version of the same story. It took a few minutes to calm down enough after the tragedy to let me read her new book to her, but after I did, through her tears, my little pout-pout fish was smiley and happy.
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Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 
That is impressive that the book helped her recover from getting a book instead of a cuddly toy! I’m surprised the library thought it was a good idea to give some kids toys and others books…
The librarian felt so bad about it, she brought my daughter a Minnie Mouse ball that she bought with her own money the next day. The worst part is that the book is not even the “worst” prize on the wheel. The next week my son got a raffle ticket when he spun. Thankfully at 5 and half he was a little better able to manage his disappointment.
Ooh, this looks like a book my kids could use right now! We’ve been fighting the grumps for a few weeks, so we’re definitely gonna have to check this out :) Love all of your book reviews!
Thanks, Alli! Sometimes it seems like we’ve been fighting the grumps over here for the past few YEARS, but books definitely help. :)