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Wally the Walking Fish Meets Madison and Cooper: 02/23/10
Wally the Walking Fish Meets Madison and Cooper by Gary Lamit was written for his grand-daughter and her dog. Wally is a walking cat fish [Clarias batrachus]. Obviously the real ones don't walk upright like Wally does but they can stay out of water for a long time as long as they still moist. Wally, Cooper and all the other animals of the forest can talk to each other and Madison. When Madison and Cooper let him go after catching him while fishing he decides to introduce them to some of his other wildlife friends (Betty Beaver, Frankie the Flying Fish and so forth). Their walks through the forest introduce children to the wonders of nature. I read the book to both Harriet and Sean. Harriet liked the illustrations (especially Wally in his yellow galoshes) far more than she did the story. Sean on the other hand liked how the book was based on actual animals and wanted to look up more information on the animals listed in the book as we read through it. As he's in the target age group (6 to 10) I would say the book is a success. As Heather mentions in her review the copies we received have confusing dialogue. It's all told as a Socratic discussion between Wally and Madison with Cooper popping in for comedic relief. Unfortunately this early edition doesn't give names to who is speaking. It takes one or two reads through to get the parts down. Apparently later editions have fixed this problem. Had I read a newer edition I would have rated the book higher than the two stars I gave it at GoodReads. Walking Catfish Youtube video:
Comments (2) Comment #1: Wednesday, February, 24, 2010 at 00:04:54 A walking catfish? Hmmm! I use Goodreads, too. Love it. Comment #2: Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 22:18:00 Pussreboots Yup; a walking catfish. |