Irish playwright/author Neil Sharpson (When the Sparrow Falls) comically invades kid lit with Don't Trust Fish, a picture book illustrated by National Book Award and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat (A First Time for Everything; The Adventures of Beekle), that, at first glance, appears to be a compendium of animals.
The title starts unremarkably enough: "This animal has fur. This animal is warm-blooded. This animal feeds her babies milk. This animal is a MAMMAL." The text is accompanied by a realistically executed drawing of a cow in grass. Turn the page and the boring orderly categorizations continue: a snake illustration possibly pulled from an encyclopedia features text defining it as REPTILE; a yellow BIRD has feathers because "anything with feathers is a bird."
Then the trouble begins. The next spread features an oversized FISH drawn in Santat's signature, cartoonish style. "DON'T TRUST FISH"--they "don't follow any rules." Gills or lungs, salt or fresh water, egg-layers and not, the sly inconsistencies are endless. Also, "some fish eat poor, innocent crabs who are just trying to have a nice time in the sea." Fish spend all their time in the water "where we can't see them." Beware, beware!
Sharpson and Santat's co-creation is a symbiotic marvel. Santat takes every opportunity to joke around--fish in pickle jars, the SS MINNOW sinking, a sneaky self-portrait, a moment of requisite toilet humor. In an interesting final twist, it's Santat who gets the last word--what follows Sharpson's "THE END" is a double-page illustrated reveal (no spoilers!) sure to elicit many a guffaw. Never trust fish indeed. --Terry Hong