What's It Like to Be a Fish? (Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science: Stage 1

Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1

by Wendy Pfeffer, Holly Keller

Describes how fish live, eat and breathe under water.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Animals, Picture Books, Childrens, School, 2nd Grade

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 1996

About the author

Wendy Pfeffer is an award winning author of many children’s books. A former teacher and nursery school director, Mrs. Pfeffer lives in Pennington, New Jersey. In addition to writing, she continues to teach writing and visit schools to share her work.

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're going on a homeschool field trip to the National Aquarium, and this is one of the books my five-year-old and I read together in anticipation. Though the library's copy was missing a page, we were still able to learn a lot of important fish facts about their anatomy (fins, gills, scales) and about how to care for goldfish in a tank or bowl at home. It was a good introduction to the subject for a beginning science student.

[Mahree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for any preschooler and it's educational as well.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it told me that fish need a specific water temperature to keep healthy they are in a tank. I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when it told me about different kinds of fish.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pen and ink, watercolor, and pastel illustrations in this book are very colorful and representative of the various fish depicted in the story.

[Lde212_06 · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's It Like to Be a Fish?
Wendy Pfeffer
Grade: 1
Content:
> The basic needs and characteristics of a fish


This is a great book to read to 1st graders to describe the characteristics of a fish and their basic needs for survival. If a teacher plans on having a pet goldfish for a class pet, this is a great book to read to students in order to teach them about the pet and what needs to be done in order to properly care for it.

[Samarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informational
1st-3rd

first off I love how the work of the illustrator. They did an amazing job creating pictures that were fun and engaging to look at. I love the way many fish are represented in this book. From there I also loved the way the author presented information in a fun and wondering way. I feel as if the knowledge present in the book is very basic and is good for any 1st-3rd grader to know. This also can come with many different activities such as having a pet fish or going on a field trip to see fish.

[Rebekah Waggoner]

Informational
1st-3rd

first off I love how the work of the illustrator. They did an amazing job creating pictures that were fun and engaging to look at. I love the way many fish are represented in this book. From there I also loved the way the author presented information in a fun and wondering way. I feel as if the knowledge present in the book is very basic and is good for any 1st-3rd grader to know. This also can come with many different activities such as having a pet fish or going on a field trip to see fish.

[Ashley Quick]

Awards the book has received:
No awards received

Appropriate grade level(s):
K-2

Original Summary:
The book is about where fish live, how they live, and about the way that they function in their habitats. It gives information on how they do things differently that humans do such as breath, eat, and travel.

Original review:
I like the book because it gives the basics to the way fish live, and also provide information on how to care for a fish at home. It gives just enough information.

Possible in-class uses:
-This book can be part of an underwater unit. Students can use this information to search for important details about fish.
-The students can create a graphic organizer using the research they do when searching through the book for details regarding their habitat, how they function, etc.

[Cara Frazee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade: Preschool-1
Information

This book has a lot of good information on fish that I think kids will enjoy learning about. The illustrations of fish are labeled so kids know what type of fish it is.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a very good book to teach children about what it is like to be a fish.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dull text and repetitive illustrations. The three-page activity "Setting up a goldfish bowl" is dumber than dumb.

[Jeni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty educational book on fish. The care of goldfish is a focus of the end matter.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend this book for kids 4 and under. any older and there will be unanswered questions. it's a great introduction to fish and how to care for a pet fish.

[Geneva Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was well written and informative on how to care for fish as pets and how their bodies work. This book describes the parts of the fish's body and how it works for living underwater. It goes into detail on how the fish breathes underwater which I thought was well done as children are often curious how they breathe in the water. What It Like to be a Fish would be a great book to read to a child who is considering getting a fish as a pet or is just curious about them. It also gives a lot of tips on how to care for fish and what they eat. I would use this book in my classroom along with an "under the sea" unit and maybe even follow up with having a fish as a class pet for the children to observe and give each child a turn on feeding the fish each day.


content:

1.Instead of scales, most fish have scales. Scales help the fish to swim.
2. Fish breathe with their gills.
3. Fish are cold-blooded.

[Erica Karp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not a story book but a factual explanation of the life of a fish. It goes through the life cycle of a fish in its natural habitat. In addition, it talks about the life of a pet fish such as a goldfish. It talks about what the fish needs to survive and compares how these needs are met in the wild and in a fishbowl. This book would be useful as part of a biology unit related to fish. It presents a nice overview of the attributes of fish. In addition, I appreciated that there were facts about caring for a fish as a pet. This would help draw a connection between what students are learning in the beach unit and how that knowledge applies to the class pet. However, the book is not accessible to all students. There is a lot of text on each page that includes advanced vocabulary. In addition, the visuals only loosely relate to text. For all students to be engaged, the text would need to be pared down and some of the visuals would need to be magnified.

[Julio Yac]

The book, What's It Like to Be a Fish? talks about the subject of fish. The book gives information about where they can live and how they breathe underwater. I chose to read this book due to word play of the title on the front cover and the visual display of fish that accompanied the title. The book is worthwhile due the beautiful art and the fun facts about fish.
This book is considered an informational book due to the scientific explanation of fish and their anatomy. There is no page left blank throughout the book. The pictures are very detailed and help with the understanding of the text. The font on the pages is large enough for the beginner reader to easily see and the vocabulary is not too advanced to cause confusion. The size of the painted pictures vary from a whole page to just a small individual one which increases the understanding of the topic. The text and colorful pictures make this book not only informational but also enjoyable for the young reader.

[Sara Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an informative book which tells all about fish in the wild and fish you may have for a pet. It goes through all the different types of living areas and how they breathe. It also compares how fish do things to how people do the same thing. The book ends by giving suggestions on how to prepare a fish bowl for your pet fish.
I did not really enjoy this book, however, I think someone who does have a fish or who really likes fish would love this book.
I would love to use this in a classroom if I was able to get a pet fish for the class. It could also just be used as a science lesson about fish.

[Kaylee Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really cute! It discusses different types of fish and how they live, breathe, and the different environments they can live in. The illustrations are cute and relatable to young children. It talks about how a fish is made for swimming, how they can breathe underwater, and how you can have one as a pet!

You could use this in a classroom on a unit about fish, underwater creatures, etc. Then, you could adopt a classroom fish and watch it/care for it over the course of the semester!

[Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

For kindergarten children, I would use this book in the classroom for science to explain to children the different living areas for a fish. The book describes the different parts of a fish and compares how a fish breath to humans. The book provides names of different fishes with colorful illustrations.

[Jessica Chambliss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches the basics of different types of fish through a story! Although it isn't non-fiction it would be great for a kindergarten lesson! I would read the story to the students and have them pick out and draw there favorite fish from the story. I found this in my third grade placement but I believe it is great for k-2.

[Laura Pharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this would be a great book to use with a science unit learning about fish. There are so many descriptions of the body of a fish and why they are able to survive living under water. Lots of valuable informations, but much easier for students to understand and comprehend than a science text book.

[Bird · Rating 2 out of 5]

Average. I had assumed from the title that the story would let the kids put themselves in the fish's "fins" so to speak, and imagine their lives as a fish. However, it was just a basic informational text with facts about how/where fish live.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this picture book, there is a lot of good information about how fish live and the different parts of the fish. There is comparison made between fish and humans and how to take care of a goldfish. Nicely illustrated.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good informative book about fish for kids - especially good if you are getting a goldfish.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written

[Jayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scientific look at the life of a fish. It shows the different places fish can live and why they have scales, fins, and gills. A good book for studying fish and the children enjoyed it.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the comparisons to humans, but was hoping for a focus on wild fish.

[Millz Bx]

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