The Fish of Small Wishes

by Elana K Arnold (Author) Magdalena Mora (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Fall in love with a modern fairy tale inspired by a Jewish family memory in this magical picture book by award-winning picture book creators Elana K. Arnold and Magdalena Mora.

Once, there was a girl named Kiki, who found a fish on the asphalt. The fish was very hot and very dry. But when Kiki put it in the bathtub, it started swimming, and growing, and...speaking?

"I want to grant you a wish for saving me," it said. A wish-granting fish! Alas, this fish was only a fish of small wishes, and Kiki's wish was too big. Unless...there was a way for both their dreams to come true.

Follow Kiki and the wish-granting fish in this contemporary fairy-tale perfect for fans of A Big Mooncake for Little Star and Carmela Full of Wishes.

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

A fish helps a young girl forge connections.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
Their down-to-earth demeanors and emotions suit this endearing picture book well.

Publishers Weekly

In a story with echoes of both "The Fisherman and His Wife" and The Carp in the Bathtub, a brown-skinned girl encounters a fish whose one wish-granting catch proves key to change. After other children, portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, head indoors, lonely Kiki Karpovich finds a giant fish stranded on the asphalt and carries it home. Revived in Kiki's family bathtub, the fish offers to grant one wish. Kiki's request for friends prompts an apology--"I am a fish of small wishes," Arnold writes--and with every "too big" wish, the girl notices the fish growing. Seemingly concerned over its well-being, Kiki acts bravely and, through her actions, sees all of her wishes come true. Mora's strokes of gouache, layered with inks, colored pencil, and digital collage, depict a blue-green world bubbling with possibility in this folktale-feeling work. An author's note concludes. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

★ Well suited to reading aloud, this imaginative narrative...glow[s] with warmth and color. — Booklist, starred review

A sweet...lesson about finding your voice. — Kirkus Reviews 

This pleasantly eccentric picture book will remind readers that wishes don't always require magic to be fulfilled. — BCCB 

Elana K Arnold

Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children's books, including the Starla Jean series and Pip and Zip. She lives in Southern California with her family and a menagerie of pets.

Magdalena Mora is a Minneapolis-based artist and graphic designer. She's illustrated Costantia Manoli's Tomatoes in My Lunchbox, Jackie Azúa Kramer's I Wish You Knew, and Deborah Diesen's Equality's Call. When not drawing, Magdalena likes reading, people-gawking, and trying to find the best tacos in the Twin Cities. Mostly the latter.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250765321
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Roaring Brook Press
Publication date
January 30, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV002100 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Fishes
JUV022000 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, & Fables | General
Library of Congress categories
Fishes
Friendship
Picture books
Friendship in children
Fantasy
Bashfulness in children
Wishes
Bashfullness
Fantasmes
Carp
Poissons
Souhaits

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!