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.

Beautiful illustrations. A story on how there are many sea parrots on the shore of the Diomede island

Thanks to the publishers for the ARC. It's a good attempt, and definitely an area that does not get much story telling of: Inuit population of the Diomede islands (specifically Ignaluk where the story is set) that are located in the sea between Russia and U.S.A., its customs and basic survival instinct.

The basic premise of the tale is the myth of how so many sea-parrots came to be on the shore of the smaller Diomede island, Ignaluk (which has a very small civilian population of indigenous people left) as well as how people are envious of and, at the same time, are afraid of things they cannot understand or control. It's also about mob mentality and it's destructive influence. But none of the characters feel true. They are wooden and cold.

Also there are so many questions / plot holes: Why is the boy called a 'Fish boy' when he clearly has no genitals one way or another? Why does the boy get no name let alone an Inuit name other than the 'Fish boy'? And for such a magical being, why didn't the Fish-boy already have a name? Or choose its own name? More importantly, why did the Fish-boy pick Kitmesuk to be a father? No qualities of compassion or humaneness are shown in him to warrant such trust. I mean, it almost seems like the old guy, Kitmesuk was exploiting this human-like fish to bring him food. What quality of life did the Fish-boy have once on land other than being an unpaid child laborer? Also, a leader like Nepos-sok who is mindful of his own power, offended by competition would not have let go the golden-egg goose without making sure his people got plenty of fish. In fact I'm surprised no one tried to kill Kitmesuk when they reached 'the great village beyond Narrow Waters' and before St. Lawrence's Island to take control of the 'Fish-boy'. I don't know, I just thought the story comes across as artificial as opposed to wonderful.

The pictorials / drawings are okay, but considering all the action in the book, there is usually a solo figure image per page and the expressions of all characters remain the same (aka static wooden pose.) Also, the way the boy listening to the tale in the beginning as well as 'Fish-boy' are drawn, their eyes are round as opposed to the almond-like slant of Inuits. so I didn't get what ethnicity they are supposed to be or look like.

3.5 stars I was very interested in reading this book because of the subject matter. I can't recall ever having the opportunity to read more about Inuit culture in school (or outside) and so I jumped at the chance. The artwork for this book was incredibly beautiful and really brought the story to life. I loved reading about the mythology, however, the framing of the myth inside of the little boy's trip felt clunky to me. Also, it was a bit hard to tell what age group this is meant for as it had lovely illustrations, but also quite a bit of text. Overall this was utterly unique and I hope we get more like this.

I read "Inuit Folk Tale" and that's all I needed to know.
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This is a story about why there are so many sea-parrots (puffins) on St. Lawrence Island, told in the book by the old storyteller Teragloona. But it's also a story about acceptance, love, and not treating people with differences as oddities.
I found the story sweet but not sappy, instructive but not lecturing.
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I'd recommend this for older elementary readers. I use my nephew, who's 7, as a measure for both attention span and comprehension, and this is a little above his level.
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The author includes a glossary for unfamiliar words and phrases, as well as ideas for teaching and potential assignments to build off the reading. In addition, 10% of the proceeds for sales of this book will go to Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis.
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Overall, even if I didn't like the story (which I do), I'll still buy this book because of its extras, and I'll be looking for more Vanita Books for the same reason.
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I received this book as a digital arc from NetGalley.

This wonderful folk tale teaches about Inuit culture. And, explains why sea parrots became so numerous around the stony islands of the far North. A lame Inuit fisherman is fishing when he see something unusual in the water that has a head like a young man and feet behind its tail, speaking to fisherman, "Do not spear me. I am not a fish. I am Fish-Boy." The lame fisherman becomes Fish-Boy's father and together they help us learn of this tale which includes lessons in kindness and tolerance..

This was a tale I had never heard of. It is a lovely one to use for children in helping them to learn about other cultures. The artwork is beautiful and would help in teaching about hospitality and kindness.

Rating: 4.5 OUT OF 5 STARS 🌟🌟🌟🌟


MY REVIEW:

I have always been fascinated by folk-tales and those told by Aboriginal or Inuit storytellers are some of the very best.

 There were two main reasons that traditional Inuit stories were told. Firstly, stories were used to explain the world around them, and secondly, they were used to teach traditional values to the next generation.

The cover of this book is so beautifully illustrated that I was immediately drawn to it. I believe that children will be drawn to it as well. In fact, the illustration of the boy with the puffin on his head brings to mind Disney illustrations. Mike Blanc is obviously a very talented individual.

FISH-BOY is the story of "... why there are so many sea-parrots on the stony islands of the far North." It is the story of a lame Inuit fisherman who one day saw a fish that was unlike anything he had seen before. "It appeared] to have a head like a man and feet behind its tail." To the fisherman's surprise, the fish spoke to him saying, "Do not spear me. I am not a fish. I am Fish-Boy ... I have no parents, and I am very lonely. I want you to be my father."

The fisherman was lame, but he had found a way to survive. He wasn't sure what use an armless Fish-Boy would be, but out of kindness, he took him in and Fish-Boy became his son.

This act of kindness changed both their lives for the better and the pair had amazing adventures.

You will need to read this book to discover exactly what adventures they had, what trials and tribulations they faced and to discover how their story finally reveals the reason that there are so many sea-parrots on the stony islands today. I promise that this is a story worth reading.

I love that this book not only tells the story of Fish-Boy, but also includes details of traditional Inuit life. Also included at the back of the book are definitions of some of the story's less commonly known words.

In addition to being a fantastic story, another wonderful thing about not only this book, but all books published by Vanita Books is that they donate ALL net profits to "charities where people help people help themselves." Ten percent of the net profits for FISH-BOY will be donated to The Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis, the other ninety percent will go to other charities.

I rate this book as 4.5 out of 5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

* Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC (Advance Review Copy) of this book.

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What a beautiful, magical story with stunning illustrations!

The illustrations in this book are breathtaking, and really helped to make the story engaging. I would use this book in my grade 7/8 classroom in talking about folk tales and also as an example of beautiful picture book illustration.

Engaging pictures move this story along. I would use it as part of a unit on Native Americans. It would be interesting to compare and contrast Fish-Boy with other folktales.

Beautifully illustrated Innuit folktale tells of a man you adopts an armless fish boy. The illustrations elevate the story off the pages.

4 helms

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Cute little Inuit story by Vanita Oelschlager. Never really heard of this author but thought it would be interesting to request the book on NetGalley. Glad I did as I discovered a new author and Vanita Books (Vanita’s publishing house) donates 100% of its proceeds to The Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis which is such a generous and worthy cause!

Fish-Boy is a children’s book, told in a style of an Inuit folklore tale (unsure if this folk tale is a real one or not?) which brings up themes of friendship, kindness and hospitality. Great as a bedtime story for the kids or as a great teaching tool for teachers. A nice storyline with important and strong morals and values. There are discussion points towards the end of the book too which are great as reminders to discuss the story with the kids. Beautiful illustrations with bold and striking colours which are easy on the eyes and a pleasure to look at. Lovely hand drawn maps of the Diomedes Islands and St. Lawrence Island is also included to showcase the land of the Inuits.

Having travelled to Finnish Lapland earlier on this year, my husband and I got a chance to learn a little about the Sami people (indigenous Finno-Ugric people) and their culture. We were also lucky enough to catch Arctic Odyssey at the Finland National Theatre, a combination of cross-border artists from different parts of the Arctic region who banded together to reflect and share their experiences and memories. A combination of Inuit masked dance, Arctic songs, modern Sami poetry and Chukchi myths brought awareness of such fragile cultures to the interest of adults.

Luckily for the kids they don’t have to wait long to be educated about the Inuits, as Vanita brings a part of the Arctic north into your children’s world through this story raising awareness of the Inuit people and their folklore combined with important strong themes to make this book a must-have in your children’s library.

*Thank-you Vanita Oelschlager, Netgalley & Vanita Books for the ARC.

This is a folklore about a fish boy. I have not read many folklore and I did find some of this to be confusing; maybe because I do not understand the history behind the story. I am not sure what age range this is marketed for, but it was listed in the children's section. There were parts that were written really well and I enjoyed them, but other parts that felt too wordy.

The artwork was so beautiful.

The illustrations in this story are absolutely unreal! My little guy and I loved all the colorful pages and beautiful illustrations. The story itself was lovely, perfect for early school age children. I LOVED the definitions at the end. We read it through multiple times after reading the glossary and held an even greater appreciation for it's depth. A gorgeous peek into Inuit culture and storytelling.