The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Dinesen was given to us for Islas first birthday and at the time I was worried that it would be too complicated for her. After reading it a few times though she was intrigued by this pouty fish that mostly said “Blub, Bluuub, Bluuuuuuub.” This fish was very dreary, and as hard as the other sea creatures tried to pull him out of his bad mood, he just replied “But it’s just the way I am.” He continues “I’m a pout-pout fish with a pout-pout face, so I spread the dreary-wearies all over the place.”
None of the sea creatures can change his mind or help him see the bright side except for one fish named Silver Shimmer. Instead of trying to change Pout-Pout fish she just silently swims over to him and gives him a big kiss on his cheek. He is astounded and sits up and says “I thought that I was pouty, but it turns out I was wrong. I’m a kiss-kiss fish with a kiss-kiss face for spreading cheery-cherries all over the place!” He then goes around giving a smooch to the octopus, the squid, the clam and Silver Shimmer.
I have enjoyed reading this to Isla over the past few years because it taught her the names of sea creatures and the pictures are really great. To me the message in this story is that we all know someone in our lives who may be having a hard time or be in a grumpy mood and instead of trying to talk them out of it, sometimes a hug or a kind gesture is more effective than talking. Showing someone you care will likely have better results than simply telling someone to snap out of it. Grumpy fish or people usually need more kindness and more love, that is why they may be behaving badly.
Sometimes when my three year old is in a crummy mood I try to remember the moral of this story and stop myself from trying to fix her or change her and just give her some affection instead. I have found that I can rarely talk her out of how she is feeling so I might as well give her a little extra love.
