Be Brave, Little Puffy

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Puffy is a puffer fish with a little problem – he's not terribly fond of his spines, if for no other reason than he's frequently poking his friends with them. He leaves his fellow puffer fish to go on a journey to find other friends – maybe fish he won't bother as much. Puffy encounters many other fish of various species in his effort to find a new group of friends he can live with. Eventually, naturally, he finds a way to win back his friends, and learn to accept his spines.

Each encounter is captured in a colorful drawing depicting the new species – attractive, fairly accurate and eye-catching.

It was a little wordier than most books for 4-8 year olds tend to be. Which isn't a bad thing – just something I noticed. The thing that bothered me the most about this book was the pictures. I want to stress that this might just be a Kindle Version thing, and that other formats may not have the issue. But the pictures about each episode follow the encounter with the fish – so the visual aid comes too late. So you have to flip to the next screen before starting to read so you can see or show the fish in question, and then flip back to pick up the narration. Is this a problem? No, but it's a pain – especially if your child/audience is impatient.

The pictures are also a little on the small side (yes, I know that can be changed for each picture as you go along, But it'd be nice if you didn't have to do anything) – and they deserve a closer look than is easily possible.

Arline Cooper has the goods – story and pictures bother – to produce quality picture books, hopefully we see more. Quibbles aside, this is a fun book, a book I can see parents reading frequently – and kids demanding frequently. Nicely told, attractively illustrated, with a positive message – that's a good combination.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion, as seen above.