Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler
Categories
Children’s picture books

DON'T TRUST FISH!

Neil Sharpson Dan Santat

An absurdly laugh-out-loud picture book about the villainy of fish, illustrated by National Book Award-winning creator Dan Santat.

Why, dear reader, must you NEVER EVER trust fish?

1) They spend all their time in the water where we can't see them.
2) Some are as big as a busthat is not okay.
3) We don't know what they're teaching in their "schools."
4) They are likely plotting our doom.

This nature-guide-gone-wrong is a hilarious, off-the-rails exploration of the seemingly innocent animals that live in the water.

Neil Sharpson lives in Dublin with his wife and their two children. Having written for theater since his teens, Neil transitioned to writing novels in 2017, adapting his play The Caspian Sea into When The Sparrow Falls. A huge fan of animation, Neil writes Unshaved Mouse, a comedic review blog mostly focusing on animated film and comic book movies.

Dan Santat is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of over a hundred books, including the National Book Award winning graphic memoir A First Time for Everything. His picture book The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend received the Caldecott Medal. He also illustrated The Blur, Lift, and Drawn Together, both written by Minh Lê, which received critical acclaim. Dan is also the creator of the Disney animated hit The Replacements. He lives in Southern California with his family.

Available products
Book Published 2025-04-08 by Dial Books for Young Readers

Comments

I am very, very glad that I was alone in the store while reading this because any customers would have thought me a lunatic for how loud and continuously I was laughing. Not many authors can pull off a balance of educational and absolutely, sublimely ridiculous, but Neil Sharpson has done so. Dan Santat's illustrations drop clues to future events for careful observers, which just adds to the fun. Neil Sharpson should write an apology note to every parent who will have to read this to their kids over and over and over and over again.

A total delight! Also, an eye-opening, paradigm shifting, world-changing manifesto. A truly necessary book!

Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas. The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don't trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they're up to, since they hang out underwater, and they're always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fishbut don't be fooled! Jeff's "the craftiest fish of all." All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. "DON'T TRUST FISH!" Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn't be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson's meticulous comic timing. ("Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn't that strange?") His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat's art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan's Island's S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled "Surly Chik'n Srir'racha'r"). A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.

ANZ rights to PRH Australia Chinese Simplified rights to Jieli French rights to L'Ecole des Loisirs Italian rights to Il Castoro UK rights to Andersen Press Swedish: Lilla Piratforlaget Turkish: Inkilap Gaelic: An Gúm

Don't Trust Fish reminds us, "Fish are rebels and outlaws," so we should not trust them but we definitely can like them in this revenge fueled book. Funny and charming, this will be a great read aloud to get the kids giggling.

10 outta 10. No notes.

I am so obsessed with this book it's almost suspicious (........some might say fishy) - can't wait to make my obsession into customers' problems!!

This animal guidebook send-up starts innocently enough, with a portrait of a dairy cow alongside a simple description of mammalian characteristics: "This animal has fur. This animal is warm-blooded." Entries for a reptile and bird follow before a page turn reveals an outsize fish. "This is a FISH," bold-faced type declares. "DON'T TRUST FISH." Sharpson expands: "Fish don't follow any rules.... They are rebels and outlaws." A hint about the screed's possible source soon appears: "Some fish eat poor, innocent crabs who are just trying to have a nice time in the sea." Further sins are documented: "The angler fish attracts poor defenseless crabs by glowing. This is called 'bioluminescence.' It's also called 'cheating.' " Caldecott Medalist Santat fires up the comedy with goggle-eyed vignettes of crafty fish, spying fish, disguised fish, and more. "They may already be in your home," attends an image of a goldfish surveilling a family's children, then escaping down a tunnel to report to its boss. The claims push ever further into conspiracy territory before the hand-wringing, claw-waving crab is revealed in this rapid-fire comedy of piscine paranoia.

I about died from laughing so much. A hilarious parody nature guide with some very good information, and a surprise twist at the end. Do you trust fish? Read this, and you might just change your mind!

If you've ever thought there might be something fishy about, well, FISH, you're absolutely right! Neil Sharpson teams up with award-winning illustrator Dan Santat to tell us why fish can't be trusted. This book is an absolute MUST for storytime, and parents, caregivers, and educators will appreciate the subtle scientific facts woven throughout.