Fiction Fish Books for Kids

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During spring and summer, many teachers add fish, ponds, and ocean themes to their lessons. These fiction fish books for kids work great with them all!

Whether you read these books aloud or you hand them to your kids for independent reading, all of them work well when added them to your spring and summer lesson plans. 

Best Books About Fish

Below, I’ve featured just a handful of fish picture books that your kids are sure to enjoy!

You should be able to find them at your local library or bookstore. If you can’t find them locally, you can click each image cover to purchase them on Amazon.

 

A Fish Out of Water – A young boy hilariously learns the consequences of not following instructions when he feeds too much to his goldfish—causing it to grow as big as a whale!

Fish is Fish – Two best friends, a minnow and a tadpole, are practically inseparable until the tadpole grows legs and decides to explore the world beyond the pond. When the tadpole, now a frog, returns to tell his friend of the extraordinary things he’s seen, the minnow, now a fish, tries to follow in his footsteps, but quickly finds that land is not what he expected.

The Little Fish That Got Away – A little boy goes fishing every day, but he never catches anything—no, not a single fish. So he waits. He waits and waits and waits and waits, and one day, a GREAT GREAT big fish swims by….

 

Memoirs of a Goldfish – Day One I swam around my bowl. Day Two I swam around my bowl. Twice. And so it goes in this tell-all tale from a goldfish. With his bowl to himself and his simple routine, Goldfish loves his life..until one day…

The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark – Mama tells her three little fish that it’s time to make their own homes. Jim builds his house of seaweed, but the big bad shark munches it up. Tim builds his house of sand, but the shark crunches it up. It’s smart Kim who sets up house in an old sunken ship!

The Three Little Bass and the Big Bad Gar – Written by a precocious 8 year old boy named James, this adorable adaptation of the classic Three Little Pigs story is a sweet twist with a fishy theme!

 

This is Not My Hat – When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not like he’ll ever know what happened. . . . 

Down By the River – One beautiful autumn day, Art sets out with his mother and grandfather for a fishing trip. Fishing days are Art’s favorite. He loves learning the ropes from Grandpa—the different kinds of flies and tackle and the trout that frequent their favorite river. Art especially appreciates Grandpa’s stories.

Jangles: A Big Fish Story – Fishing alone at dusk, a boy feels a tug on his line and comes face-to-face
with the gigantic trout–whose enormous jaw is covered with so many lures and fish hooks that he jingles and jangles when he swims. Terrified by the sight, the boy is shocked when Jangles befriends him and takes him on an adventure to the bottom of the lake. A surprise ending will leave readers laughing and shaking their heads.

 

Hooray for Fish! – Paddle along with Little Fish on a mesmerizing underwater tour of friends spotty and stripy, happy and gripy, hairy and scary, even curly whirly and twisty twirly.

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story – Norman the goldfish isn’t what this little boy had in mind. He wanted a different kind of pet — one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a “good pet,” things don’t go as he planned. 

Swimmy – Deep in the sea lives a happy school of fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding . . . until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how—with ingenuity and team work—they can overcome any danger.

 

The Rainbow Fish – Eye-catching foil stamping, glittering on every page, offers instant child appeal, but it is the universal message at the heart of this simple story about a beautiful fish who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions that gives the book its lasting value.

The Pout-Pout Fish – Swim along with the pout-pout fish as he discovers that being glum and spreading “dreary wearies” isn’t really his destiny. 

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – From counting to opposites to Dr. Seuss’s signature silly rhymes, this book has everything a beginning reader needs! Meet the bumpy Wump and the singing Ying, and even the winking Yink who drinks pink ink. The silly rhymes and colorful cast of characters will have every child giggling from morning to night.

Round Out Your Unit with These Activities:

This Frog Pond loose parts kit is perfect for pretending while reading Frog and Toad or any other froggy book! These items are perfect to add to homemade play doh or just on their own!

Themed sensory bins are a great way to teach kids about colors, shapes, textures and numbers. The Ponds themed sensory bin filler sets fill your bins of all shapes and sizes.

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