Barnacle is Bored by Jonathan Fenske

Sometime I'm going to make a list of funny fish stories with surprise endings. Really, it's a genre. Although technically barnacles are not fish (they are related to crustaceans).

Barnacle is bored. The waves come in, the waves go out. Nothing ever happens. She just sits there. If only She was more like that fun fish! He gets to swim around, probably has all sorts of fun with other fish like....that....eel.

Oh.

You know what, Barnacle isn't so bored anymore.

The real trick to getting a funny fish story just right is the timing and art and Fenske hits it all the way. Barnacle's bored eyes and dangling limbs, shift back and forth in the flat, blue ocean. She imagines a colorful, exciting life for the cute polka-dotted fish, all the while showing her boredom and annoyance with just the few shifting lines of her eyes and mouth. The few simple colors of the ocean and deck on which Barnacle sits extend the monotony of her existence. When the eel comes through, the pages are laid out just right - no need to flip ahead or behind when reading this one in storytime! You get the full shock value (-:)

Verdict: For fans of eat or be eaten fish stories (and who isn't?) I most sincerely was not bored. Thanks Barnacle.

ISBN: 9780545865043; Published 2016 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium