YES! 5 stars! What a wonderful book! I am glad I stumbled on this wonderful picture book on NetGalley yesterday. I just adore the message. I am definitely getting one for the classroom.

Happy New Year with 2022 being ushered in tomorrow. This is a message we need. Communication! Loved the pictures, beautifully illustrated.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC to read for review.



I just loved it!!!
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When a little boy greets a fish, he's dismayed to find the fish doesn't greet him back. More than dismayed, in fact. He considers it downright rude.
Then the same happens with a lion and a bee.
The boy doesn't know what to do. What is wrong with everyone.
Then, as he's walking past a tree, the tree greets him. To his surprise, the boy learns that the animals weren't being rude, they just don't speak the same language!

Do You Speak Fish by DJ Corchin and illustrated by Dan Dougherty is a great reminder to all of us that just because sometimes in life, it takes more effort to communicate with other people, it's still worth the effort! In a time when many people feel misunderstood, this book teaches children to open their minds and realize that the world is not always as it seems, and sometimes a second look can change your whole perspective!

This is both a cute story and a profound tale that explains in a fun way how to act towards people who are different from oneself. A boy tries to communicate with a fish and is frustrated by the lack of understanding between them. It is only when he learns to speak so the fish can understand him that they share meaningful conversations. A great book for demonstrating understanding and empathy for those from other cultures and languages.

This book was simply wonderful. I love how it teaches that we might all speak different languages but we can still be kind to each other. I think this would be a good book for any kiddo.

**Honest review for a free copy and advanced look at this book. Thank you, Netgalley and DR Corchin** A boy strolls around greeting animals and gets upset when they don't say hi back. He thinks they are rude and doesn't understand why they don't speak "kid." This is a tender story about suspending your own world view and seeing things from someone else's perspective. You can see the results of the boy's actions when he decides to learn how to speak fish and other languages, it's like a domino affect which ultimately connects the characters in a lovely way. I really enjoyed the colors and illustrations in this book. It would be a great text for the primary classroom to teach about different languages as well as decentering our one's own culture to learn from and connect with others.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book. The art was nice, not super unique in style but very colorful. The message was good and it had a nice ending. Some parts were very silly, which kids will enjoy.

This review is based on an ARC copy.

What a cute and fun way to approach the topic of differences and culture with children. The story did a good job of speaking to a child without patronizing them. I enjoyed reading this to my son, who got a kick out of the fish.

I received an electronic ARC from SOURCEBOOKS Kids through NetGalley.
Corchin uses a child and several animals to help readers understand how to communicate with others. Sometimes we don't all speak the same language. The boy learns this when he tries to speak to a fish, a lion, and a bee. A tree then speaks to him and explains the book's point. Each of the beings learns other languages so they can spend time together. The illustrations enhance the point and let readers join the fun. Moments of humor also pull readers in.
Great book for class or family discussion on acceptance and being welcoming.

I read Do You Speak Fish to my eight year old and he was immediately drawn to the illustrations. He thought they were hilarious. He thought the boy had a funny look, he thought the bee's angry face was funny, and he thought that the tree's faces were funny as well.

This was a great story about meeting people where they are when it comes to communication. I loved the message that it's not about what how you speak but you should try to learn how the other person speaks. That could be communication styles or languages.

One tiny critique I have is that the place setting could have been more cohesive. It looks like he was in the African Savanna at one point and then in the English Countryside at another. I don't know if that was on purpose because the languages would be so different but it seems like it would have made a little more sense if the story took place in one location. Then different animals from that one location would interact with the little boy.

But all in all this was an enjoyable read.
My eight-year-old gave this a 10 out of 10 and again his favorite thing about the book was the illustrations and mine was the message.

Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for this review.

I greatly enjoyed DJ Corchin's Do You Speak Fish? In essence it is a story about communication and expanding your world by finding common ground.
It was well executed. The illustrations are fun, the text matches the pictures and the language is appropriate for the target audience. For early elementary educators I see an opportunity for many open ended discussions, and I will be sure to add the title to my library.

I have to admit that when we began reading DJ Corchin's Do You Speak Fish?, I didn't care for the book. The main character is rude and rather selfish. However, as the book progressed, it turned itself around, sharing a lovely narrative of learning about those who are different and working to communicate with others in their own way. I still won't say that this is one of our favorites, but I was pleased with the message provided in the book. This would be good for early elementary classrooms.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was provided by the publisher.

I was hooked by the title and even more intrigued after seeing that it was a book about communicating and understanding others. This is a lesson that is so important for people of all ages to learn, and personally, I don't think there's a better way to model it than through a picture book.

Not only does Do You Speak Fish cover an important topic, but it is hilarious. As I was reading this, I kept imagining hearing how many giggles certain part of the story would get out of younger kids, which makes me so excited to read it aloud someday. Aside from the jokes, I think that the overall message comes out strong and would lead to lots of conversations. I would recommend this book to kids of all ages.

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Kids for an advanced digital copy of this book. Do You Speak Fish will be published October 2021.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Kids, Sourcebooks Explore for a free digital copy.

A funny book about communication and learning to look at the perspective of others and not just yourself.

This is a great story about diversity and how we need to learn more about others in order to relate to them.

I can see this being enjoyed during circle time and group stories, as students act out the communication of each of the different animals. While I know this was written specifically about the different languages and cultures -- respecting each of them -- I actually can see the value in this story as a teacher of autistic preschoolers. Many times people do not take the effort to learn THEIR way of communicating, and only say "why don't they speak (my way)?" It really lets you talk about ALL the different types of communication and how we can respect each other. I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I wish the illustrations were a little better.

A lovely book and wonderful read. I'd recommend this one to all! So many excellent lessons to learn for the little ones and the book art is absolutely beautiful! My son loved this book!

Our family did enjoy this one but it wasn’t our favorite. The story follows along a boy who wants to speak to different animals but expects them to speak in his language. Throughout the course of meeting different types of creatures, he realizes he needs to be accommodating and accept differences to be able to truly communicate. It is a great morale, but something about this story felt forced… like it was trying too hard. Love the concept, but not the delivery.

This book reminds me of a novel Fish In a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt, and the quote in it about how we treat/judge people: "Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid."

As an English speaker, I must admit that no matter where we go in the world, we’re pretty fortunate in that so many other nations speak English as their second language, so in that regard we are quite spoilt. What if that wasn’t the case, and what must it be like for people who come to English speaking countries, and find it difficult to understand and be understood.

That’s a big thing to think about, so a book like Do You Speak Fish is great because it tells the story from a completely different perspective, one where animals can talk, but one in which we can think about our own actions, values and behaviours.

The boy on the story gets quite frustrated when the animals don’t understand him, because he doesn’t speak, fish/lion/bee etc. Shouldn’t all creatures speak ‘kid’? It’s not until the wise tree makes him think about it, does he realise that maybe he should make the effort to learn fish/lion/bee and in turn they might learn yours, and even just learning a little bit and being that bit more thoughtful can make a massive difference and make others feel more welcome and included.

A great book to start a conversation in the classroom.

I enjoyed this book a lot and it really made me sit and think about different languages and how people expect others to speak their language and don't have patience to try and understand others or learn their language. The boy in this book learns a very valuable lesson and makes new friends in the process.

This was a great book with a fantastic message about understanding. The illustrations were fantastic, I love the side eye from the boy, it reminded me of characters in sitcoms that look directly at the cameras.

This is a great book to ass to your collection and will spark conversations about languages, miscommunication, understanding, and compromise.