Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
130th out of 326 books
—
304 voters
Zebrafish
by
Peter H. Reynolds ,
FableVision , Sharon Emerson, Renee Kurilla (Goodreads Author)
Vita is a purple-haired singing queen, and she has big dreams for her rock group, Zebrafish. But when she holds auditions for the back-up band, tryouts are sorely lacking in the musical ability department. Luckily her new bandmates—Walt, Tanya, Jay, and Plinko—have other talents. But lately Tanya has been missing a lot of rehearsals. When Vita discovers why, she realizes t...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
May 4th 2010
by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
(first published 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
292)
Zebrafish tells the story of Zita, a middle-school girl who lives with her brother (a scientist). Zita decides to start a band and recruits some new friends at school- none of whom actually play instruments but all of whom get along pretty well. Tanya, one of the band members, later tells Zita that she leukemia and that's why she misses some band practices. Zita and the band raise money for the local hospital to get a machine used in cancer research by putting on a show.
I was skeptical of the bo...more
I was skeptical of the bo...more
Zebrafish as written by Sharon Emerson & drawn by Renee Kurilla
recommended ages 7-10.
Welcome to a before-during-and-after-school special where we learn that “we can’t always get what we want,” friends and family are our greatest resource for getting what we need, and we can change the world in various and creative ways. Yep, a middle-grade offering driven by a message. But it isn’t all bad.
Zebrafish begins with the establishment of the three pairings of the six main characters whom all inter...more
recommended ages 7-10.
Welcome to a before-during-and-after-school special where we learn that “we can’t always get what we want,” friends and family are our greatest resource for getting what we need, and we can change the world in various and creative ways. Yep, a middle-grade offering driven by a message. But it isn’t all bad.
Zebrafish begins with the establishment of the three pairings of the six main characters whom all inter...more
When I first picked this up I thought it was going to be a trite little story about a couple of kids starting a band. And in some ways it was, but as you continue to read there are different themes coming into play. Activism, death, grief, sickness, and also taking control of elements that you can affect. Powerful stuff for a middle school student to come across.
A kid could get as much or as little as they wanted out of it, but at the end I think you left with an unalienable belief that there is...more
A kid could get as much or as little as they wanted out of it, but at the end I think you left with an unalienable belief that there is...more
Reason for Reading: This is a Cybils '10 nominee and required reading for me as a graphic novels panelist.
This is a nice book. The artwork is well done. The colours bright, the kids different shapes, colours, styles and income brackets and yet they all get along fine. One girl, Tanya, has leukemia, though she doesn't tell anyone for most of the book. This girl is also very much into volunteering and causes, save the pandas, that sort of thing. The other girl, Vita, wants to start a rock band bec...more
This is a nice book. The artwork is well done. The colours bright, the kids different shapes, colours, styles and income brackets and yet they all get along fine. One girl, Tanya, has leukemia, though she doesn't tell anyone for most of the book. This girl is also very much into volunteering and causes, save the pandas, that sort of thing. The other girl, Vita, wants to start a rock band bec...more
Zebrafish is a graphic novel, about friendship, talent and some surprises. Zebra fish is about 5 kids who all meet each other at band tryouts. One problem though……. no one has any talent. That doesn’t stop Pinko, Jay, Vita, Walt and the star Pablo from forming a mutual band. But why does Vitas never show up to practice? Is he just ditching? Does she not like them? Read this intreging book to find out more.
I think the author did a great job not using to many words, but still using enough to expl...more
I think the author did a great job not using to many words, but still using enough to expl...more
I am still fairly new to Graphic Novels. I have only been reading them a few years. But I do know stories and this is an amazing one. It is a story about a girl that wants to become a musician, Vita Escolar. Her older brother is a medical researcher. She puts up posters for band members but no one who comes is actually a musician except Jay. The main characters are:
Vita
Jay
Plinko
Tanya
Walt
They start out with different goals for the band, but in the end they discover a unified goal and purpose. The...more
Vita
Jay
Plinko
Tanya
Walt
They start out with different goals for the band, but in the end they discover a unified goal and purpose. The...more
Vita lives with her brother and has just started at a new school. She eventually gets herself a guitar and decides to start a band, unfortunately no one who can actually play an instrument shows up to her audition. Instead she makes four wonderful new friends who help her start her band anyway in a less traditional sense. Eventually they create a multimedia presentation that they hope to use to raise money for causes.
This book is very much about friendship and honesty. I liked watching the kids...more
This book is very much about friendship and honesty. I liked watching the kids...more
Vita buys a used guitar, thinks up a great band name - The Vita-mins - and then puts up flyers at school to hold auditions to find some bandmates. Some kids show up but none of them play an instrument. They meet again anyway and a plan starts to come together. Plinko and Jay have video skills, Tanya writes songs, Walt’s an artist and Vita can sing. It’s not a band, but it IS something special. The kids put together a show - see for yourself at http://www.zebrafish.com/. You can even download Vit...more
I've been trying to read more graphic novels and make them available to my students. I had passed by this one, but recently read a glowing review of it. I don't remember which blog, but one of the teacher blogs I follow mentioned how much their students loved Zebrafish. I got it from the library yesterday afternoon and had it finished by dinner. I love it. The art work is fabulous, the story is fun, funny, and heart warming. It is definitely one that middle school and high school students can en...more
Zebrafish by Peter H. Reynolds is the first graphic novel from the popular FableVision publisher. Designed as a part of a larger commitment to the Children's Hospital Boston, the book stresses how individuals can make a difference locally and globally.[return][return]The story follows a teenager's experience forming a band in her new school. Bringing a diverse group of teens together, they decide to hold a benefit concert. Dealing with issues such as medical research and diseases that impact you...more
Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com
Vita decides she wants to form a band, but first she needs members - and they have to learn to play instruments. Vita recruits band members at her school and they decide to put on a concert. When the band learns that fellow member, Tanya, has leukemia, the band decides to change their concert to a fundraiser for cancer research.
The good thing about ZEBRAFISH is that it's never overly preachy about doing good. The characters are...more
Vita decides she wants to form a band, but first she needs members - and they have to learn to play instruments. Vita recruits band members at her school and they decide to put on a concert. When the band learns that fellow member, Tanya, has leukemia, the band decides to change their concert to a fundraiser for cancer research.
The good thing about ZEBRAFISH is that it's never overly preachy about doing good. The characters are...more
reviewing for library media connections.
intrigued. Copyright is owned by a children's hospital. Peter reynolds & his company fablevision present the book, but the book is written & drawn by other people than reynolds. Didhe come up with concept, did the hospital? Like I said, intriguing.
wish I had gone to party for zebrafish at the last ala con now. Maybe I would have those questions answered. But I didn't go to ala... :(
for analysis of bk you'll have to wait for lmc to publish my revi...more
intrigued. Copyright is owned by a children's hospital. Peter reynolds & his company fablevision present the book, but the book is written & drawn by other people than reynolds. Didhe come up with concept, did the hospital? Like I said, intriguing.
wish I had gone to party for zebrafish at the last ala con now. Maybe I would have those questions answered. But I didn't go to ala... :(
for analysis of bk you'll have to wait for lmc to publish my revi...more
Ah, the intentions are good, and the characters and story are appealing, but...there isn't actually enough plot or characterization for this graphic novel to be truly engaging. Also, the concert at the end, which is supposed to be the climax, is simply flat - obviously one can't hear the music, and the video art in the background never shows up, so that leaves us with the lyrics: "Stick to it!/Success don't happen quick/Stick to it!/ Shake it up!/Give life a kick!"...Um, no.
Vita wants to start a band, which isn't unique. What is special is her tenacity when she finds out she can't get what she wants, or not exactly. The story jumps from scene to scene and character to character, so it takes the reader a while to figure out what's going on with the band members, but this makes it all more intriguing. Serious themes are mixed with enough silliness and bright artwork to make this a bit of a challenge...but not too much. Gr. 5-7.
I was really drawn in by both the front and back covers and I love Peter Reynolds' picture books, so I found the contents mildly disappointing. It's a decent story about a group of high schoolers bonding over the idea of forming a band and finding different ways to express themselves through it. I think it only scratched the surface of what the story and characters could have been were they more fully developed and it didn't make much of an impression on me.
While the main story line is a little confusing, this one stood out because of the side stories involving leukemia and cancer research. That part was handled very well, and in a way that brings the subject to kids in a somewhat understandable fashion, but without bogging down in clinical details.
I do wish the artwork had been a little better, and that the main story had been a little clearer. It's still worth reading, but could have been even better.
I do wish the artwork had been a little better, and that the main story had been a little clearer. It's still worth reading, but could have been even better.
Giving three stars because I really felt middle of the fence-ish...five kids...all different...all talent-less...form a band (doesn't everyone)...I would never recommend this to high school...perhaps lower middles school...it has cute art...and the story isn't bad but it beats around the bush a bit and by the time you truly get the hang of it you are mid-way thru...sales and proceeds all go to a Childrens Hospital so it was worth the money
Vita wants to start a band, but she needs some friends to make it happen. This light friendship story deals with some serious issues, and manages to introduce some biochemistry along the way. Unfortunately, it feels disjointed and the characters lack depth, and they look a little too much alike for the reader to easily follow their relationships. Still, the art is pleasing and the dialogue is snappy. Worth a look.
Meh. Maybe my expectations were too high but this graphic novel fell a little flat for me. There's good messages for kids about the importance of activism and tapping into your potential for greatness, plus a gentle handling of themes like cancer, death, etc. ... but it felt jumpy and like the characters weren't fully fleshed out. Liked the illustrations though - bright, clean, and eye-catching.
Group of kids create a "virtual band" in which one kid plays an instrument and the others contribute to a short film to play behind her. A little strange, and a little shallow. But I appreciate the efforts toward encouraging kids to contribute positively to the world. The illustrations are colorful and engaging. Just didn't fall in love.
I was browsing the children's/YA graphic novels on my break at work today, looking for something happy and light to read, and Zebrafish was exactly that! It's a sweet story with cute art, and includes a song about saving pandas.
Apr 27, 2012
Katie Lawrence
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
children-s-books,
potential-library-books
Zebrafish is a sweet story about 6 friends who start a band while dealing with cancer, school and family issues. I found myself wishing this book had been much longer so the relationships and situations could have been more fleshed out, but I appreciated the focus on cancer, particularly in a child.
Told in an experimental graphic novel form, Zebrafish is about a group of kids who form a band for charity. The colors are bright and the artwork is very well done. I found it a bit tricky to follow the conversations at times, but I think lower middle grade kids would enjoy this one.
There are some great ideas and causes behind this book, but the execution was a bit confusing, and it was sometimes hard to follow. There is on online component that will be intriguing to the intended audience, but as a stand alone it doesn't quite stand up.
The characters and story will appeal, but I'm more impressed with the quality of the graphics and panels. The use of deep tones and wide angles helps ramp up the tension and emphasize the nature of the target age- EVERYTHING feels like life and death.
I appreciate the premise of this "music saves cancer" graphic novel, but the execution is a little fuzzy. The cartoon artwork fits the mood, but some sections are confusing to follow as the action quickly jumps from character to character.
This graphic novel starts with disconnected characters and story lines you don't see the connection between...and then they come together in the most beautiful and powerful way.
The power of music, friendship, art, and a cause. Fantastic.
The power of music, friendship, art, and a cause. Fantastic.
As I have been reading more and more graphic novels, I may be getting pickier. This one seemed confusing at first and never seemed to really smooth out and find it's groove which is a shame because the concept of the book was a good one.
zebra fish is a wonder full book zebrafish is about a girl that just got in to high school she is trying to create a band in high school this is a great way to fit in. this book art form is
is like bold and like mad anemai.readers that like band.
is like bold and like mad anemai.readers that like band.
A group of kids decide to form a band, even though none of them know how to play an instrument. When they decide to perform as a charity fundraiser, the band discovers a secret that changes the way they look at the world. C rating.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Peter Hamilton Reynolds is an author and illustrator of children's books and is the co-Founder and CEO of educational media company FableVision.
More about Peter H. Reynolds...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
