This story is full of gorgeous illustrations that could easily work as wall art in any home. I loved the writing of the story and the message, but the language won’t work for an audience of children. This isn’t a book to read at story time, but it will work for at-home discussions. I received this copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED the illustrations in this book. I felt the heavy content was written a little bit aged, and my son wasn't completely caught up in the story. We read it slowly a page at a time and he got through it but I would return to it when he is a little bit older.

I enjoyed this book and it really made me stop and think about where I am in life and to just slow down every now and then to enjoy the journey instead of rushing to get everything done.

Wow the illustrations by Khoa Le are out of this world! My son and daughter loved them. The story itself was is a great message to young readers.

I was not familiar with Alan W. Watts, and was not aware that this story was originally published back in 1944. This release features beautiful illustrations by Khoa Le. The illustrations interested my grandchildren and we talked about them a lot, however, the text did not. I do believe that this is a wonderful message, but the book is not relatable to young children. The story of this fish getting caught up in thinking about all the things that he does automatically, can be confusing to young children. I do not recommend this one.

I give this book 5 stars even though I think it might be a little much for the intended audience, younger children, because I feel it's one of those books that can appeal to all ages, including adults. Alan Watts was an author known for making Eastern philosophy and religion more accessible to Western readers, and this parable of a fish who loses his way by getting to caught up in himself is said to be his only story written for children; it may be true that he wrote this for kids, but I think it serves as a parable suitable for anyone. The fish in the story can't see the water around him, holding him up, giving him plenty of room to move and explore, making way for him and closing behind him to support him. The fish begins to think he swims all on his own, and panics, forgetting how to swim. He decides if he can catch his tail in his mouth, he can pull himself up and keep from sinking into the scary depths. After watching this for a while, the Great Water speaks to him, reminding him he is never alone, the Great Water is there to hold him up and help him swim. Upon realizing this, the fish goes forth happier than ever, exploring the beautiful world around him instead of being wrapped up in himself. The text is written beautifully, but will likely be to long for younger children, but it's worth a shot. Older kids will be more likely to get the message, which is told in such a non-denominational way that it could easily apply to any religion (the Great Water could be God, the Great Spirit, the Goddess, Gaia, the Universe....) or no religion at all (as a metaphor for science and nature around us). The story is a good reminder for all of us to notice the beauty in our surroundings. Speaking of beauty, Khoa Le's art is absolutely stunning, rich with color and detail, expressing the emotion of the story so well! I'd love the frame every illustration for my walls, so I could see them every day, just gorgeous! A wonderful book, in story, message, and illustration!

#TheFishWhoFoundtheSea #NetGalley

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Alan Watts and Sounds True through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The illustrations in this book were beautiful, bright, and colourful. I enjoyed this story, to me it was about how we can get wrapped up in ourselves and our thoughts and forget to breathe and enjoy the world around us.

I really love the message that this book means to portray to young readers. I love idea of revamping the old parables. Both the words and pictures are beautiful however the writing seems to surpass its intended audience. I fear that because so much would need to be explained to the children reading/listening that the message may end up overlooked or misunderstood.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

While the illustrations were good, this was probably the wost children's book I have ever read. It needs to be shorter with less text and geared more towards kids.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. While the illustrations in the book are excellent, the message is too heavy and written in a way that will pass right over the heads of young readers.

A conversation about swimming between a fish and the Great Sea.

Cute story about a fish who puts too much thought into swimming and forgets how. He thinks he will fall like a stone unless he can catch his tail. After many tries, the Great Sea steps in to ask the fish what he is doing. Once the fish knows that the Great Sea holds him up and protects him, the little fish swims up and down, to the left and right, with joy.

This is a nice story about others looking out for you even when you don’t realize it. The illustrations are pretty. The only criticism I would have is that the author used the word “obtruded” in a children’s book.


I received an ARC from Sounds True through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

5 STARS WITH CAVEAT***:
Khoa Le's art is just gorgeous, really beautifully done. The art speaks to a very young child, but hopefully can also hold interest for older kids, 8-12, because that is where the text literacy sits. (Frankly it can sit for adults too, as that is whom this original old text was drafted for!)

Of course this is a book put together posthumously, as Mr. Watts has long ago left us. His verbiage is flowery and filled with metaphor, if you hear his speeches still widely available, and that is what is recorded in text here. It sounds exactly like one of his speeches. I requested this book for review, because well, Alan Watts!

Someone should have edited this to allow a coherent age target, and for the art to match text. Someone should have clipped smaller phrases from his old talks.

OR

Someone should have prepared an art and binding layout that would appeal to older children, even up to middle school age here, with words that would engage their mental curiosity and visual skills.

This is a mashup, art geared very young, text highly likely originally written or spoken to adults (!!). (Perhaps Mr. Watts had a school audience at some point; nevertheless this language is geared to middle school and higher, at minimum semi-aware older children with a very large vocabulary.) I'm sure it will sell, but parents of small children will need to edit each paragraph (usually a couple of full paragraphs per page/image) to a single simple direct sentence.

A good scenario will be older kids reading to younger kids -- it would be the older child who would understand more of the message here, that we are as fish swimming in the sea not understanding the powerful currents we swim within, as they are basically invisible and thus their power not noticed. Thus we have no awareness of the great power that carries us and aids us throughout our entire physical life.

Alan Watts was a huge thinker with vastly inspirational talks and writing. Sounds True is a huge publisher of written and audio material and classes. They do a lot of great work supporting messages that need saying in today's world. They should consider reworking this, as works aimed to *all* the age groups of childhood are very much needed today, if we are to survive the next century. Flowery adult language filled with metaphor is not going to hit a toddler or preschool child in direct fashion, at all.

*** I'll rate it 5 stars, but for the text and art SEPARATELY.
Put together I'd rate it 3 stars or lower. But I just cannot put 3 stars for Alan Watts no matter what the editorial team has done here, and I cannot rate 3 stars for Khoa Le, such a strong artist who probably followed editorial direction for the age targeting. So it is 5 stars with caveat.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Sounds True publishing for an ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I find myself very torn writing this review. The art work is truly stunning and I would definitely be interested in reading anything else Khoa Le illustrated. Alan Watt's has also created a clever spiritual metaphor in this book. However, I found the language too mature for picture book age children (words like monotonous and phrases like "the fish waited to die"). If an adult was looking for a beautiful gift/keepsake version of Alan's parable, this would be nice. But I'm afraid, I can't recommend it for young children.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. I am a bit confused with this book. Let me start with the illustrations, which in my opinion are just super and really give life to the story. The book itself is supposed to be a picture book and this aimed at young readers, but while the illustrations are great and the life parables are super, the language is a bit difficult for that intended age. I think this is a good book for parents to read with their kids and explain the deeper meanings within the book.

This was a cute little story that was read with my son during bedtime. It opened his mind to the curiosity of fish in the sea and How the ocean works

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, but they didn't match the words on the page. This is a children's book, but the text is quite a difficult read for the targeted audience.

This was a book whose title was very eye-catching to me for how does a fish actually find the sea, especially if he is born there? Or is this possibly a freshwater fish who chose to tackle salt water for whatever reason? I guess you have to read it to find out....

Anyway what happens is this is more a spiritual/philosophical book than an actual children's book but put in an easier to digest format for older readers. Although this is quite unusual I actually prefer this selection over those that tackle numerous philosophical topics all in a novel of 200+ pages, which ends up making that type of read more confusing and dull. Even though it is still word heavy for very young readers it isn't overly wordy for getting the message across.

As for the story itself it explores what happens when the human creature takes itself off of Autopilot and starts to question the strange world around itself. When you start exploring to find yourself how do you respond to the experiences you cannot explain - fearful, anxious, open to learning, growth, all of the above?

The illustrations are amazingly done, brightly colored even for the darkest aspects and very detailed. I wasn't a fan of the little fish's eyes but they are only just one small detail when compared to the beauty found in the whole page.

And although the book is spiritual by nature there is no claiming suggestion as to whether the Great Sea is God, Allah, Buddha, the Great Divine, etc. thus it is quite a flexible book for any and all readers.

This is definitely one book I would call a keeper and would recommend for those who are starting to question the world around themselves.

***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

This picture book is marketed as a ‘delightful and wise teaching parable… about getting into harmony with the flow of life’ and the metaphorical nature of the story is clear from the very beginning. Unfortunately, with the exception of the stunning art work by the incredibly talented Khoa Le, I’m really not sure that the story will engage children. Indeed, I think the message is too mature for children, and the language too clunky for adults. It fell flat for me I’m afraid.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Sounds True Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A book that stands alone as art. My favorite kind of children's literature. The story is a gentle retelling of parables the world over, for me a recasting of the footprints in the sand, in which a single being begins to feel that they alone are the creator of their destiny and therefore their only saving in times of trouble. While this book does not reference God but a greater being, the retelling works for readers that are faith-based and those that are not. The telling is deftly crafted to be uplifting and reassuring and never heavy-handed. A great book to own, or to give and so calming and reassuring in the times we find ourselves in currently. This book would be a great graduation gift, as well as many other "big transition in life" moments.

In this tale of a tail, we meet a fish with a curiously familiar problem—he’s gotten himself so mixed up that he spends all his time chasing himself in circles! Only the Great Sea knows how to help our poor fish get out of the mess he’s created with his own runaway thoughts.

This is supposed to be a children's picture book, but the language is far too advanced for the intended audience. The message is good and the art is amazing, but this is not a kid's story.