An interesting tale - with an amusing ending. Well, at least I thought so.

The art was perfect for the story. I think this would capture the imagination of a child in early elementary school. Too bad my kids are now a bit older than this.

I love the encouragement at the end to tell a story. We forget how important stories are.

And at the end there is also a good section of definitions of words that were in the book. And there are some good teaching points on a different number of issues covered - if you didn’t think about them while reading.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Vanita Books for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

What a beautiful book about a tale of the Inuit. The illustrations alone makes this book worth-while. It is always interesting to read lore from other cultural regions.

This is a beautifully ilustrated book for children. Fish-Boy retells an old inuit folk tale. on how to treat others. and deal with strangers.This is also a great way to meet and get to know a different culture as the inuits' is for me. Really nice.

A masterfully illustrated tale of Arctic peoples and their superstitions. Fish Boy sea creature with no arms asks a fisherman to be his dad. Fisherman accepts and the two travel to inhospitable people. In the end, magic saves the day. Although we loved the illustrations, we'll pass on this one.

A beautifully illustrated Inuit tale for children with a nice parable embedded into the story. A wonderful book about how to treat others, especially visitors, or the theme of hospitality. Gorgeous artwork and an interesting way to explore a different culture.

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Fish-Boy retells an old inuit folk tale. First, the artwork of this book was stunning; Mike Blanc's illustrations perfectly captured the story. I also loved that this book is so diverse; it's always a pleasure to see authors branching out and being more inclusive - especially in books for children. However, I do think this would be better marketed towards an older audience (maybe 8+?) since the story might be too difficult to follow for younger children - though they will still enjoy the illustrations. Bonus points for the section at the end that introduces new words for young readers (and for me since I did not know what an umiak was) and teaching points for readers that would be very beneficial in classroom settings!

Fish-Boy is an Inuit Folktale told as a story-within-a-story. A young boy listens to one of his elders tell the story of how there came to be so many sea-parrots (Atlantic Puffins) near the water that surrounds the islands. It is also the story of fish-boy, his adopted father and the villagers that treated them badly. As folktales usually do, there is a moral to this story about hospitality and treating strangers kindly. The story is well told in the oral storytelling way, but the illustrations are what really sold me on this book. Mike Blanc uses bright colours in a smudged way. The backgrounds showed the Arctic landscape and the expressions on the face of fish-boy shared a lot of emotion. The glossary and teaching points at the back of the book make it a great choice to use when teaching a lesson on fables and folktales as well as multi-cultural aspect and positive character traits (hospitality, elder treatment, kindness, acceptance of differently abled people etc.) This book is geared to older children (ages 8 and up) and would make a great addition to a school, class or public library.

Firstly, thank you for the ARC. I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the art style. It works very well to complement the setting and works at bringing some whimsy to the story. I also really enjoy highlighting the oral traditions and the story being told in a story is a nice way to show that. I find it sad that Fish-Boy doesn't have a name other than Fish-Boy. You would think that a magical and special character would have an identity. I also believe that the story is too wordy for younger students but would work well as a teaching aid.

An, enchantingly-illustrated Inuit folktale, Fish-Boy, retold by Vanita Oelshlager and illustrated by Mike Blanc, is well-worth a second read.

Fish-Boy is told as a story-within-a-story. A young boy listens to one of his elders tell the story of how there came to be so many sea-parrots near the water that surrounds the islands. Oelshlager writes the language in a way that echoes the oral tradition. However, the star of this book is the art by Mike Blanc. Bright colors, soft patterns, and visually exciting composition make them stand out and capture readers and listeners alike.

This book would be at home in any library with a large folktale collection, especially those looking to diversify their collection.

This is an Inuit folktale about why there are so many "sea-parrots," aka Atlantic Puffins. It is beautifully illustrated and eloquently told. I want to buy this in hardback to keep in my children's home library with other folktales from around the world! This will be a lovely addition to our collection. This is a little on the long side for my 3 year old right now - there are a lot of words on each page so it likely won't hold his attention for long enough to read everything on each page, but in another year or two I think he'll be ready for this book.

There is even a section at the end listing new words for young readers (example: Igloo, kayak, etc.). What a great resource!!

I've been an advocate for more diverse books and am so glad for the work author Vanita Oelschlager does. Her children's books are always well-done, well illustrated and give back. I wish we had more people out there that create art and story with meaning and community in mind.

I like Fish-Boy and many Inuit tales, but this one meandered oddly. Rarely does one discover what was once an oral tradition to stay on point, but this story zig zagged to its finish. Had it been more linear, I think myself/children would have followed better.

Nevertheless, it's a solid book from a culture that doesn't get enough exposure.

I love the art, it's super gorgeous. The story is nice, too.
The idea is great, talking about a fish boy (I thought he was like mermaid but apparently no XD) and how people often look down other people who looks weak.
However, I feel it is too wordy for kids. Maybe it'll be more appreciated by teenager.

This beautifully illustrated book from the Inuit folktale of the same name, is about a fish boy, fisherman and their village. As a huge fan of mythology and folklore, I enjoy seeing the lesser known tales brought to life for the world to enjoy.

As a picture book, I wpuld definitely say this is for older readers. Young children will enjoy the illustrations, but the story itself any be a little difficult for them to grasp. Recommended for ages 7+.

The illustrations. The illustrations. The illustrations. Superb, magnificent, and beautiful . The supplementary content that's included is a perfect addition to the book, making it a must have for teachers in the classroom.

Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager, Mike Blanc (Art) is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book is based on an Inuit tale and told as such. It is very cute story with colorful and delightful illustrations. I love old folk tales and I think more kids need to here the old traditional folk tales, they seem to be getting lost in our society now. In this story, an old Inuit man tells the story of Fish Boy. This will certainly keep the kids entertained and wanting to read or hear it over and over again. Very cute!

Beautifully illustrated Inuit folktale about fish-boy and the fisherman and the village that wronged them. As with all good folk tales, there is a moral to the story and also a beautifully thought out explanation for something that would otherwise be quite mundane such as why are there so many sea birds?

I think it's a story for slightly older children. The illustrations are enough to entertain younger children, but the use of language and perhaps the morals of the story are definitely more targeted towards older ones.

Fish Boy is an original beautiful children's book by Vanita Oelschlager following the tale of 'The Fish Boy' a tale passed down by a wise old Inuit. The story is set in the Arctic lands of North America following Fish Boy and his new father as their struggles against neighbouring villages teaches the reader why kindness is is always the better option to choose.

I am always excited to see books set in different cultures showing the reader a new perspective and especially in a children's book as you don't often read about the Inuit culture.

The art is beautifully drawn bringing great views to the open white planes of the Arctic and even as an adult I enjoyed reading this story which provided a nice lesson for the reader.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.
Some may think 3 stars is low (expecually for this author!) But for me, 3 stars is pretty good! While I did not quite fall in love with this book so instantly as I have with Vanita Oelschlager's other books (they are amazing, you have to check them out!) I did still enjoy reading this. It took me u til about half way through to really get into it, and it left me thinking a bit about it and the messages the story tells. I wont give them away but its good if you or your child is interested in other cultures and also in learning positive messages as this story has quite a few good ones. It does have some hard to read words so just a little warning for letting young children reading this alone. As usual, I loved the illustrations and I would recommend this.

Lovely artwork accompanies this Inuit folktale about where the sea parrots come from. Even though Fish-boy has no arms, he has a big heart and some helpful magic. I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it!

It's easy to get caught up reading stories from the most popular mythologies (Norse, Greek, Egyptian), I am so happy that there are more and more great picture books coming out that cover lesser known myths and legends. This is the third Inuit picture book I have read with my kids in the past year, it's fun to read about different myths from many cultures and helping them figure out how these stories developed and how details reflect important parts of daily lives. Fish-Boy was a very relatable story for my kids because it is told as a story within a story, the first person narrator is a young child listening to the Fish-Boy legend from an older adventurous man. Young readers are able to connect to the narrator, my kids were very interested imaging what life in the Arctic is like for a kid. In addition, important lessons about guest-friendship from the legend are reflected and emphasised in the narrator's story. Fish-Boy is a great book for mythology lovers.

This is a wonderfully colourful tale of the Inuit. It tells the story of where many of the sea parrots come from and what that has to do with malice and hospitality. It's also a story of inclusion and how handicapped people can still be of value to the community (never judge by looks alone). There is prejudice, as people aren't perfect, but the good ones learn from their errors while the bad ones get their just punishment.
And the story is a story within a story because the old folk tale is told by an elder during a journey - I always like that.

Accompanying the old tale are cute and wonderfully colourful illustrations, making this a bit more interesting (visually) for younger readers. Apart from the type of art, I really mostly enjoyed the little details like the carving on Kitmesuk's walking stick and the bright rainbow colours.

I checked if this was "just" a story from an author in an Inuit setting or an actual old Inuit tale and it seems to be authentic, which is very nice. Cultures like that of the Inuit have wonderful tales and it would be nice to find more of them in bookstores.