The Girl Who Became a Fish

Ita is a girl who is afraid of many things. She’s just moved house and the unfamiliar surroundings, her confident brothers, her grandmother’s illness and her sad dad aren’t making anything easier. She’s afraid of talking to people in her new school and of walking around the new town she lives in but most of all she’s afraid of swimming.  Then she discovers a river that appears wherever she goes, and the flowing water of this strange river seem to turn her into a fish.  Illustrated throughout with charming pictures by Sojung Kim-McCarthy this is a gentle tale of overcoming fear and understanding what ‘home’ is.

Polly Ho-Yen is a skilled writer and observer of young children as her book The Boy Who Grew A Tree showed, and this story is similarly accurate in its depiction of the very real fears and emotions of a young child. We see scenes at school and at the swimming pool where Ita’s reactions are raw and compelling and very, very realistic. The world in the story is seen from Ita’s viewpoint, and it is initially scary and confusing. As she comes to terms with her surroundings and her family’s circumstances she can overcome her fears – with the help of the magical river, of course.  The lovely scene where Ita first swims by herself is illustrated with a double page spread and the words and pictures together portray the full beauty of the enjoyment of confident swimming.  “I can be brave, she thought. I am brave.”

The Girl Who Became a Fish is perfect for confident early readers to tackle themselves or as a read aloud book.