What about My Goldfish? - Hardcover

Jennifer Plecas is the illustrator of Snow Day! as well as several other books, among them Good Night, Good Knight and Get Well, Good Knight, both published by Dutton. She lives in Blue Springs, Missouri.

Ages 4-8. In a story divided by chapters and illustrated on every page with watercolor-and-ink cartoon-style pictures, a small boy worries about having to move to another town. His immediate first-person narrative focuses on his pets. What if his dog Freckles can't find anyone to play with in their new neighborhood? Won't the water spill from the goldfish bowl? Step by step, as he says good-bye to his teacher and his school friends, sees the familiar house empty out, drives with his parents clear across the country, slowly settles into the strange place, and finally, makes a new friend, the pets are both comfort in an unsettling world and a way for him to confront his worries. There are some affectionate jokes about those worries: "Are we almost there?" he asks as they turn a corner near their old home, but it takes three days to get to their new house. Then, with the quiet support of his parents, he and his goldfish find a surprising way to make friends and have fun. This is bibliotherapy without preachiness, and it is realistic and funny about anxiety and adventure. The facial expressions and body language in the droll pictures say a lot about feelings. Hazel Rochman