I AM A BIG FISH!

Little or big, the puffer fish knows itself very well.

This excellent early reader starts out with a case of classic one-upmanship as a school of colorful small fry approach a slightly larger, yellow puffer fish. “Wow, you are a big fish,” they say admiringly. A nearby jumbo shrimp isn’t impressed and says so, injecting wordplay for good measure: “No, you are not. I am big, and I am shrimp-ly amazing.” Bigger and bigger marine life appear in the playful, cartoon-style illustrations, each one declaring itself larger (and by implication, better), but the yellow fish holds its ground. “If you are a big fish, then PROVE IT,” chides a blue-colored fish. In an admirable display of integrity and self-possession, the yellow fish responds, “No, I do not have to. I am leaving.” Cue the Jaws music: Just after those who have been teasing the yellow fish declare themselves hungry, a shark appears on the verso of the spread. “I would love a nice BIG FISH.” Exercising terrific use of composition and layout, Jin has all the others flee to the right on the recto, suddenly eager to proclaim their relative smallness—all except the yellow fish. In a supremely satisfying twist, “POP! POOF!,” the little yellow fish puffs up to dominate the page, outsizing all rivals—even the shark!

A wholly gratifying tale of a small fish in a huge pond that nevertheless proves its mettle.