I Used to be a Fish

Reviewed by: Anne Donovan - Long Island Community Library, Long Island, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 9, 2017

Review

Tom Sullivan describes his I Used to be a Fish as a "fictional story inspired by the science of evolution". It begins with a boldly colored red fish who get's tired of swimming, grows some legs, and heads for life on land. Each page progresses through the process of evolution with a simple illustration of each. As the fish evolves he grows fur, survives threats to his existence, changes to a primate, and finally becomes an upright male human. The human form goes on to learn to hunt, draw cave pictures,and build shelters and homes. The book ends with a young boy in super hero garb contemplating what's next. The author adds a very simplified time line "A Brief History of Life on Earth" and Author's Note with some further explanation of evolution. the illustrations are done with black Sharpie on white with bright pops of blue and red colored in. The topic is overly simplified and missing huge gaps. The author's note is at an entirely different level of complexity as the text.

Overall Book Score: fair