What do you think?
Rate this book
Little Fish
A spectacular carousel pop-up book that follows the journey of a little lost fish as it tries to find its way back to the coral reef. Little Fish tells the charming story of a fish finding its way back home to the reef, through five spectacular pop-up scenes. Readers will delight in being able to follow the little fish swimming in a world packed with brightly colored corals, clams and fish, through a seaweed forest; under the eye of a greedy-looking grouper; and quickly past a menacing shark, and all the way back home again. Told in a lulling rhyme reminiscent of the waves, and illustrated by Emily Rand in a playful, patterned style, Little Fish is an eye-popping story that celebrates the wonder of ocean life. Produced as a carousel format, which stands up independently when its cover boards are tied back together, this wonderful book will be enjoyed by anyone who experiences its unique, immersive artistry. Illustrated in 4 Pantone colors
10 pages, Hardcover
Published September 17, 2019
About the author
Emily Rand
11 books3 followersEmily Rand is an illustrator living in London, UK.
Emily grew up immersed in books, from picture books to poetry and novels. As a child she always studied the illustrations in picture books for tiny details, trying to make sense of the world through the illustrations. Books by Shirley Hughes and Janet and Allan Ahlberg were her favourites with their familiar depictions of slightly chaotic, everyday family life.
Emily studied illustration at Camberwell College of Arts and the London College of Communication. After graduating Emily worked with children and young people teaching art and running creative workshops in schools, galleries and museums.
Inspired by the beautiful and unusual books in the children’s bookshop Chantelivre in Paris, Emily was inspired to start creating picture books in her free time.
In 2012 she entered her illustrations to the illustrator’s exhibition at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, her work was selected and nominated for the prestigious Bologna Illustrator’s Award. The selected illustrations became her first picture book, A Dog Day, which was published in 2014 by Tate Publishing.
Since then she has written and illustrated six books published by Tate Publishing, Thames & Hudson and Flying Eye in the UK, her books have been translated into many languages and sold all over the world (including in the Chantelivre bookshop in Paris!).
In 2019 Emily was selected by the Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child, to be featured in Drawing Words, an exhibition of contemporary UK children’s book illustration.
Emily lives in east London with her husband and two children. She works from a studio nearby in an old carpentry factory.
Emily grew up immersed in books, from picture books to poetry and novels. As a child she always studied the illustrations in picture books for tiny details, trying to make sense of the world through the illustrations. Books by Shirley Hughes and Janet and Allan Ahlberg were her favourites with their familiar depictions of slightly chaotic, everyday family life.
Emily studied illustration at Camberwell College of Arts and the London College of Communication. After graduating Emily worked with children and young people teaching art and running creative workshops in schools, galleries and museums.
Inspired by the beautiful and unusual books in the children’s bookshop Chantelivre in Paris, Emily was inspired to start creating picture books in her free time.
In 2012 she entered her illustrations to the illustrator’s exhibition at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, her work was selected and nominated for the prestigious Bologna Illustrator’s Award. The selected illustrations became her first picture book, A Dog Day, which was published in 2014 by Tate Publishing.
Since then she has written and illustrated six books published by Tate Publishing, Thames & Hudson and Flying Eye in the UK, her books have been translated into many languages and sold all over the world (including in the Chantelivre bookshop in Paris!).
In 2019 Emily was selected by the Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child, to be featured in Drawing Words, an exhibition of contemporary UK children’s book illustration.
Emily lives in east London with her husband and two children. She works from a studio nearby in an old carpentry factory.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 17, 2019
Son's Review (T)
(Age: 4)
"This is my new favorite book because it is a star book. It's about a little orange goby fish that's lost. It makes me happy...My favorite part is when the fish arrives home. It's good to read it at the beach because it's a sea book. I'd like to learn about a grouper."
Mom's Review (V)
Short and simple, with a depth that makes it worth reading over and over.
While there are only a few lines per page and only a few pages at all (see T opening the book to a carousel), Little Fish is not babyish and Emily Rand wastes neither words nor space. When the goby fish is separated from his companion, he encounters several other sea creatures, including a grouper, kelp, and a cave. Little Fish lays a foundation for understanding ocean life with the goby's journey back to his companion. Readers will learn about the dangers that confront small fish as well as the varied plant life. The bright images give a vivid impression of the color world beneath the waves.
But you could get ocean info anywhere. What sets this apart is the paper craft. Little Fish can be tied cover to cover such that it is a carousel. This invites exploration and play, not simply reading. After we'd read it, T decided to use it as the settings for a movie. He combined several fairytales and used different guys, moving them from page to page as he crafted his own prince vs. witch vs. pollution storyline. At one point, the superhero whale gets eaten by the shark (see below).
Little Fish is a delight.
Extra:
We watched this grouper video from National Geographic to see what one really looks like.
Why we chose this book:
You could think of us as (snobby?) pop-up book connoisseurs :) Our refined tastes balk at simple two-layer raised images. Nurtured from the outset with National Geographic action books that have numerous moving pieces and multiple layers of paper craft on each page, we* have come to demand nothing less than intricate, captivating paper engineering. If the pop-ups are cutting edge, we want a taste. You perhaps saw our review of Midnight Monsters, which you use to create shadow images that you read about. Well, here is another book that delights with its unique format.
*T got my old Nat Geo books, so the exact same books introduced us both to pop-ups, but decades apart
A review copy was provided by Thames and Hudson in exchange for an honest review.
(Age: 4)
"This is my new favorite book because it is a star book. It's about a little orange goby fish that's lost. It makes me happy...My favorite part is when the fish arrives home. It's good to read it at the beach because it's a sea book. I'd like to learn about a grouper."
Mom's Review (V)
Short and simple, with a depth that makes it worth reading over and over.
While there are only a few lines per page and only a few pages at all (see T opening the book to a carousel), Little Fish is not babyish and Emily Rand wastes neither words nor space. When the goby fish is separated from his companion, he encounters several other sea creatures, including a grouper, kelp, and a cave. Little Fish lays a foundation for understanding ocean life with the goby's journey back to his companion. Readers will learn about the dangers that confront small fish as well as the varied plant life. The bright images give a vivid impression of the color world beneath the waves.
But you could get ocean info anywhere. What sets this apart is the paper craft. Little Fish can be tied cover to cover such that it is a carousel. This invites exploration and play, not simply reading. After we'd read it, T decided to use it as the settings for a movie. He combined several fairytales and used different guys, moving them from page to page as he crafted his own prince vs. witch vs. pollution storyline. At one point, the superhero whale gets eaten by the shark (see below).
Little Fish is a delight.
Extra:
We watched this grouper video from National Geographic to see what one really looks like.
Why we chose this book:
You could think of us as (snobby?) pop-up book connoisseurs :) Our refined tastes balk at simple two-layer raised images. Nurtured from the outset with National Geographic action books that have numerous moving pieces and multiple layers of paper craft on each page, we* have come to demand nothing less than intricate, captivating paper engineering. If the pop-ups are cutting edge, we want a taste. You perhaps saw our review of Midnight Monsters, which you use to create shadow images that you read about. Well, here is another book that delights with its unique format.
*T got my old Nat Geo books, so the exact same books introduced us both to pop-ups, but decades apart
A review copy was provided by Thames and Hudson in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review