The only fish in the sea

Did you hear about little Amy Scott? She got a goldfish for her birthday and then just threw it in the ocean! That doesn't seem right.

I guess Sherman and Sadie will have to go save little Ellsworth (every fish deserves a proper name) on their own. They'll need:

A boat
Fishing gear
Twenty-one pink balloons
A bucket of paint
And
Appropriate headwear in case of weather--good or bad

Don't worry. Ellsworth is in good hands now, but what ever happened to little Amy Scott?

Join Sadie ( Special Delivery ) on another adventure in The Only Fish in the Sea , a delightful picture book by Philip C. Stead and Matthew Cordell.

A Neal Porter Book

Author Notes

Philip C. Stead is the author of the 2011 Caldecott Medal book A Sick Day for Amos McGee . Books that he has recently written and illustrated include Ideas Are All Around and Samson in the Snow. He previously collaborated with Matthew Cordell on Special Delivery. Philip lives with his wife, illustrator Erin E. Stead, in Michigan.

Matthew Cordell has illustrated many books for children including Special Delivery by Philip C. Stead, a Washington Post Best Book of 2015. He is the author and illustrator of several picture books including Wolf In The Snow , Another Brother , Wish , and Hello! Hello! . Matthew lives outside of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children.

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-With comic urgency, a boy races on his bicycle to tell his friend Sadie the story of spoiled Little Amy Scott, who declared that her birthday goldfish was BORING and walked across town to unceremoniously throw it off the dock. The boy, Sherman, asks Sadie if she could imagine that poor fish, still in its bag and floating away, bringing the prologue to an end and spurring Sadie into action. She names the fish Ellsworth, plots a course, and gathers fishing gear, weather-appropriate clothes, a bucket of paint, and 21 pink balloons. A half-dozen monkeys join the kids on their journey as crewmen, adding to the zaniness established by the loose pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations. Readers will admire Sadie's unflappable, no-nonsense response to the dangers at sea, though this is just one of the many gloriously funny details. -VERDICT A contemporary tall tale fueled by the characters' genuine caring and heart. Best read one-on-one to feast on the clever cartoon artwork.-Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Sadie, the inimitable hero of Special Delivery, has returned. Her arrow-straight sense of justice sends her in search of a birthday goldfish that Little Amy Scott has thrown into the sea, plastic bag and all. Sadie's friend Sherman and the hilarious gang of monkeys from Special Delivery sprint to keep up as Sadie borrows a boat, plots a route, and sets off; her supreme confidence delivers them to precisely the right spot in the ocean, and Ellsworth ("Every fish deserves a proper name," Sadie declares) is rescued in the nick of time. The monkeys' mayhem is beautifully choreographed, Sherman is promoted to a full-fledged character, and Sadie's obliviousness to nautical danger provides a keen sense of fun. (A fine Cordell split screen shows Sadie pouring Sherman a civilized cup of tea as a sperm whale threatens to upend the craft from below.) Stead never takes Sadie's campaign for virtue too seriously, yet her shining sense of justice lingers long after the silliness subsides. Ages 3-6. Author's agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. Illustrator's agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* The creators of Special Delivery (2015) offer another adventuresome odyssey, undertaken to bring a stranger to a welcoming new home. When snotty Little Amy Scott rejects a birthday goldfish by chucking it into the sea, still in its plastic bag, young Sherman imagining, in Stead's sonorous narrative, that poor fish all alone, floating away, and away, and away, and away joins his briskly can-do friend Sadie in a rowboat rescue. In exuberant, Quentin Blake-style watercolors, Cordell inserts a crew of monkeys in Jack Tar dress, a comical cast of sailors who also help the two gather the necessary nautical gear. After weathering high seas, a giant squid, and other watery hazards, the rescuers bring the finny refugee to a town-fountain haven. When he is hungry, we will feed him, Sadie promises, as smiling residents gather round. And when he is lonely, we will keep him company. (Compassionate to the last, Sherman wonders about Little Amy: She'll spend her birthday alone, Sadie sniffs. And that's all right.) This is comforting fare for children, especially those who themselves have been cast adrift, and sensitive readers in more secure situations may even spare some sympathy for Little Amy.--Peters, John Copyright 2017 Booklist

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