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Arlene Sardine
Born in a fjord, a tiny fish named Arlene wants to be a sardine. Fully grown by two, she swims into a big purse net along with thousands of friends from her school. After three days and three nights, she is lifted out of the water and dropped onto the deck of a fishing boat, where she dies. But that's not the end of Arlene's story. It takes a lot more than just being caugh...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 1st 1998
by Scholastic
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Arlene Sardine is an altogether shocking yet amusing, clever yet realistic narrative of the true life of a sardine. It begins with an introduction of a fish named Arlene whose dream is to become a sardine. She does all she can to reach this dream...including death. Just when you fall in love with the charm of Arlene through Raschka's use of clever language, Arlene dies halfway through the story. "I knew a little fish who wanted to be a sardine. Her name was Arlene. Arlene wanted to be a sardine....more
Note* some difficult words like fjord, brisling, hermetically. Best for an older child (2cnd or 3rd grd)
This could really be a non fiction book, as it details the (tragic) life of a sardine. I would NOT recommend this for any kind of story-time or you will have the children and/or parents in tears. The fish dies and is processed as food. I found it a bit startling and unpleasant. There is nothing wrong with reading this to a child who wonders where his/her fish comes from, or if the specific chi...more
This could really be a non fiction book, as it details the (tragic) life of a sardine. I would NOT recommend this for any kind of story-time or you will have the children and/or parents in tears. The fish dies and is processed as food. I found it a bit startling and unpleasant. There is nothing wrong with reading this to a child who wonders where his/her fish comes from, or if the specific chi...more
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While the process of learning about how sardine's are packed weren't exactly pleasant, I did find this book to be great for mathematics in the field of measurement and capacity. After reading the book, children can get their own different sized "Sardine cans" and place fake sardines (or sardine replicas) into the box to fill it's CAPACITY. Children can then count how many sardines it took to fill their capacity, write it on their box and close it. When everyone is finished, they can trade boxes...more
I have enjoyed many of Raschka's books and I was really liking this one in the beginning. Then I realized what this book is really about. Basically, a fish named Arlene who wants to be a sardine, whose dream is to be caught, frozen, packaged, and canned. It kind of reminds me of the way farm animals are personified and how we are led to believe that the food we eat comes from happy cows, pigs, and chickens who want nothing more than to become our dinner. Thanks, but I'll pass.
Nov 04, 2009
Ghislaine
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who wants to justify eating sardines.
Recommended to Ghislaine by:
Library School professor as an example of a book you wouldn't wa
Shelves:
children-s-books,
picture-books
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I can't remember ever laughing so hard in a book. I also realized after reading this that I have quite the morbid sense of humor. I think if I were to have this in a classroom I would just keep it on my shelf for independent reading. I think it is a bit too controversial to read a loud maybe? I think it is a unique way to explain death errr.. and maybe where sardines come from :)
PB#46: This book was started during child lit class but I was curious to read the rest and finish it after class ended. To be honest, although I liked the illustration in match to the text, I do not think this is a kids' book and parts of it were very morbid and controversial/questionable. I would definitely recommend this to young readers!
PB #2: This book is definitely different. I wasn't really sure what to think of it while reading it and I am still baffled by it. The book very bluntly talks about the death of the fish. I wouldn't recommend this to young readers because I think that it really messes with people ideologies and talks about topics that are not really talked about in children's books (death for example).
Arlene sardine is the story of a little fish who is sardine at the of the book. It is easily one of the best children's books ever written. I cracked up on every page when I read it years ago. It's a very sick story, but that's what makes it so great! It should be shared with everybody!
Arlene Sardine is a realistic (maybe a little too realistic) book about the life cycle (from brisling to tin can) of a sardine. Arlene is a little unaware of what really happened to her. :-(
Little kids might be a little sad or frightened.
Little kids might be a little sad or frightened.
This book got me excited about reading to the Kindergartners. I wanted to create a voice for each character that really stood out to the students. This book is not a happy book but in the end Arlene gets what she wants. This a good book to sh ow students to dream big and you might reach those goals.
Pb.37 I have no idea why I gave this book a five but I did.It was just so quirky and weird. I mean it talks about suicide but in a cute kind of way. It was actually sort of heartwarming and sweet.
PB #42: Arlene Sardine
A rather disturbing book about a little fish named Arlene and her process of becoming a sardine. I feel this book could be traumatizing for younger children.
A rather disturbing book about a little fish named Arlene and her process of becoming a sardine. I feel this book could be traumatizing for younger children.
So bad it wasn't funny. Kids are not the audience. I will go out on a limb and say this book was published just to see if the publishers would be crazy enough to print it.
Oh, how I love Arlene Sardine! I can understand why you might not want to share it with really young children, but for all of the sardine lovers among us, it's terrific!
My Resources and Services for children prof read this children's book out loud as an example of a book she bought once without reading reviews first. A definite mistake.
Recommended by Amanda. Horrifying and strangely funny. I would never use it in storytime -- I'm sure parents would not appreciate this one. Kids might, however.
This book was slightly disturbing and depressing. It's about a fish who wants to be a sardine, but she gets caught and dies and eventually ends up in a sardine can.
I picked this up at the library because my mother-in-law's name is Arlene. Easily the funniest kid's book I've ever read. I laughed so hard I cried.
Maybe I'm biased because I saw Chris Raschka perform this live, but I think it's hilarious. Hilariously awful, maybe, but hilarious nonetheless.
If you are a brisling with aspirations to be a sardine, you're going to have to go through some rough stuff.
Interesting book on how sardines are canned. - controversial
Written and illustrated by Chris Raschka
Written and illustrated by Chris Raschka
journey of a happy fish with dreams of becoming a sardine through a picture book.
Oct 29, 2007
Meghann
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
elementary school teachers with an offbeat sense of humor.
Shelves:
best-books-ever
This children's book is about a fish who strives to be a brined sardine in a can. Step one for a fish with this desire: DIE. Ha! The author doesn't describe the process in a morbid way; it's all very matter-of-fact. This book freaks parents out, though (and a lot of teachers as well), due to the whole dying thing. Very controversial. My master teacher kept a copy in the classroom library, where students had access to it during independent reading opportunities. I plan on doing the same. We all d...more
A small fish dreams of becoming a sardine. Controversial.
Arlene the sardine is an amusing book. The fish Arlene wants to be a sardine, but in order to be that she must die. Some may argue that this is not an appropriate young readers book, however, others may argue that this is a great book to present about death! Because in this story it doesn't end with death, no, there is so much more to the story still! In the end, Arlene achieves her dream of being a a sardine with her friends. The readers focus is not at all about death, but the fact that everyo...more
May 09, 2013
Kelly
added it
Humorous story that was challenged
Weird death ideology, but I liked it.
May 08, 2013
T. Tran
added it
Demented, hilarious.
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"I always try to treat the book itself as the artwork," Chris Raschka says. "I don't want you to stop while you're reading one of my books and say, 'Oh! What a gorgeous illustration!' I want you to stop at the end of the book and say, 'This is a good book.' "
Chris Raschka is one of those people who knew from an early age what he wanted to be when he grew up. "It was never a question in my mind,"...more
More about Chris Raschka...
Chris Raschka is one of those people who knew from an early age what he wanted to be when he grew up. "It was never a question in my mind,"...more
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Nov 30, 2012 03:16pm