Plankton is Pushy, written by Jonathan Fenske, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Plankton is our main character who is swimming around trying to make friends. When he gets to Mister Mussel, he does not get any sort of response. Plankton tries a variety of ways to get Mister Mussel to respond. He is teaching Mussel how one is supposed to say “hello”. It is particularly amusing when Plankton starts to get annoyed, like by tapping a tiny fin on the water. Then Mister Mussel starts to open up his shell. Plankton keeps getting closer and closer...and then Mister Mussel EATS PLANKTON *nooooooooooooo! Then he says “¡Delicioso!” 

Straight Talk for Librarians: Well, I was worried that a small reader might be a tad upset that Mister Mussel ate Plankton, but my 4 year old squealed in delight. It was an exciting part of the story. The illustrations are hilarious and simple. This book will be perfect for any existing Baby Shark fan because it takes place in the ocean. If read with the right emotions, you will have young readers howling with laughter. This book is a great fit for a preK-lower elementary school library. It would make for a nice ocean book display. There is some new vocabulary to learn. The illustrator conveyed a lot of emotion through his color choices. When Plankton was super mad, the whole page was red. I think young readers will really enjoy this book.