Gary Lamit
BookSurge (2009)
ISBN 9781439225417
Reviewed by Sophia McElroy (age 6.5) for Reader Views (7/09)
This is a great story about a walking fish named Wally. Madison and Wally meet when Madison catches Wally in the pond. Of course, she let Wally go because she believes in “catch and release.” Madison and her dog Cooper discover that Wally can walk and talk! Wally is my favorite.
I never knew that Catfish could walk! They are called “Walking Catfish.” They put their tail in like a puddle or something and can stay out of the water for several days as long as they stay moist.
The three friends have fun singing songs in the forest and swimming to meet the beaver family. Wally, Madison and Cooper met a flying fish named Frankie. They don’t really have wings!
The artwork is beautiful. My favorite picture is of Wally walking. My favorite funny part of the book is when Cooper, the yellow Labrador, jumps into the air trying to fly. This really made me laugh!
Parent Note: My daughter didn’t seem to have any trouble following the story but I sure did. I wasn’t really sure who was talking without looking for clues. The story in “Wally the Walking Fish Meets Madison and Cooper” by Gary Lamit is really cute and the dialogue itself is good, but it seems that the spacing or some other way of showing who is talking would make it flow better. I know that having quote marks and “she exclaimed,” gets wordy and distracting, but I think it needs something more to guide the reader.
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