The Pout-Pout Fish is a rhyming children's picture book published by Farrar Straus Giroux. The text of the story is by yours truly, and the wonderful art is by Dan Hanna.
The Pout-Pout Fish tells the tale of Mr. Fish, who spends his days with his fish-face stuck in a permanent pout. Though his pals try to cheer him up, they have little success. But as the story swims along, an unexpected friend arrives on the scene and helps Mr. Fish to discover that glum isn't really his destiny.
The Pout-Pout Fish spent two weeks on The New York Times Book Review picture book best sellers list and was named one of the 2008 Top Ten Children's Books by Time magazine. It was also chosen to be the 2009 Michigan Reads selection. In addition, it was the 2008 Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) Picture Book Award Winner, and it was a 2009 Indies Choice Best New Picture Book Honor Book. The Pout-Pout Fish is also included in the 2009 Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year list.
For more Pout-Pout info, including story time materials, curriculum suggestions, a cootie-catcher, and You Tube links, click here.
My rhyming picture book story The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade, illustrated by Tracy Dockray, will be published spring 2010 by Tricycle Press.
In this humorous rhyming tale, fed-up babies band together to protest baths, bibs, belly kisses and more.
Booklist says it's "a great early read-aloud, with a thumping, thythmic text that kids will want to hear many times over."
Publishers Weekly says, "Diesen gets the we're-not-gonna-take-it tone exactly right."
And School Library Journal declares the book "great fun"!