Just Like Us! Fish, written by Bridget Heos, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Kalen A.
Summary: Reading the book Just Like Us! Fish by Bridget Heos is akin to a stroll through an aquarium. Each flip of the page introduces a new aquatic species, overarching piece of trivia, or special ability unique to a particular variety of fish. Younger students with no interest in the field may find themselves fascinated by the parallels Heos draws between our everyday tasks and the peculiar traits fish take advantage of to go about their lives. Intriguing biological facts are matched with silly jokes, and real-life images are surrounded by fun watercolor cartoons in a combination that both teaches and entertains.

Straight Talk for Librarians: Just Like Us! Fish is written and illustrated wonderfully to accomplish what it sets out to do: promote the interest of new readers in the underwater world. David Clark’s eccentric drawings serve to engage younger students while also highlighting the purpose to many of the different species’ adaptations. Is it necessary or scientifically accurate to depict porcupine fish wearing medieval suits of armor or electric eels with plugs for whiskers? No, but the fantastical representations have great potential to drive interest in the actual science. Heos’s descriptions are full of facts. Within each of her infoboxes is an amount of straight material on who these fish are and what they can do, laced with puns that will put a smile on the faces of the readers. Altogether, you have a non-fiction journey both richly informative and light-heartedly humorous that teachers and parents can make good use of to introduce new readers to the excitingly diverse world of life that lies under the water. This would be a good book to go along with a fish theme. It would also be a great choice for classwork focusing on informational text.