FISH FISH FISH

FISH FISH FISH is written by Lee Nordling and illustrated by Meritxell Bosch. It was published in 2015 by Graphic Universe.

Lexile Level: NP (Non-Prose)    Ages: 5-10

NP: Non-Prose

The NP code is for any book comprising more than 50% non-standard or non-conforming prose. NP books do not receive a Lexile measure, merely the NP code. Some common examples of non-prose content are poems, plays, songs, recipes, and text with non-standard or absent punctuation.  (Lexile.com)

Summary:

     FISH FISH FISH is a graphic novel that is also wordless. It gives three stories through three points of view with zero words and all the stories end up connecting. On the top of the page we follow a little yellow fish who swims alone in a big ocean. In the middle of the page we follow a hungry barracuda who is searching for something to eat. On the bottom of the page we follow a school of fish who band together and find strengths in numbers.

Evaluation and illustrations:

     This graphic novel is different from others, it is telling a story through three perspectives and it does not use words at all. It gives students a choice: they can read it one story at a time or read all three stories at once. Personally, I found it easier to read the stories all at once, by reading each strip across, the character's stories sometimes don't make a lot of sense separately. Student's could have some confusion while reading because the stories are intertwined and they may loose whose story they are reading. Also, I found the problem and solution apparent from page one, but the message is still amazing.
 
      The colorful cartoon illustrations are very vibrant and visually interesting, easily keeping younger readers interested. Meritxell Bosch made his illustrations very detailed, for example, there is a few pages that the setting goes from the open ocean to a sunken ship. On this ship we see the fish and barracuda swim through cracks or holes and Bosch also included old furniture that sunk with the ship such as, a broken mirror, a picture, and a  broken canyon. Towards the end of FISH FISH FISH, there were two illustrated pages (that were not split into the three perspectives) this was a great addition to this graphic novel because it shows how the three perspectives came together. 

Literary Elements:

     The main characters of this graphic novel include the yellow fish, the barracuda, and the school of fish. There is also a few characters that have smaller roles such as jellyfish, starfish, and a killer whale that tried to eat the barracuda. The point of view is from three perspectives the yellow fish, the barracuda, and the school of fish. Of course, the setting is under the ocean, but there are some places they swim to like the sunken boat, a sunken statue, and in coral reefs. 

1. Characters: the yellow fish, the barracuda, the school of fish
2. Point of view: told through three perspectives
3. Setting: in the ocean

In the Classroom:

      This is a great book to use for point of view. For a mini lesson before I did a read-out-loud i would have the students illustrate what they think will happen from one of the fishes point of views. They could choose the yellow fish, the barracuda, or the school of fish and create 3-5 illustrations. After reading the story have students share if they were right about their fishes role in the story. Then, the multiple perspectives coming together can start a great discussion about understanding and looking outside your own story. So as a class we would discuss this and end with a writing prompt about point of view.

• From this story what did you learn about point of view?

• Whose point of view was your favorite? and why?

Nordling, L., & Bosch, M. (2015). FISH FISH FISH. Minneapolis, MN: Graphic Universe.