Fish Feud!

Squizzard is a little squid with a big personality. He loves telling jokes, scarfing sardines, and hanging with his best friend Toothy. But the thing he loves most is being in charge. When Squizzard makes up games, he is always the hero and Toothy is always the sidekick. Squizzard never listens or admits when he’s wrong. One day he pushes Toothy too far and his bossiness causes a rift in their friendship the size of the Mariana Trench! Can Squizzard convince Toothy to give him a second chance? Or is he doomed to be the loneliest kid at Deep Reef Elementary? 

During show and tell, Toothy is presenting when Squizzard pushes him out of the way and calls Toothy’s presentation boring. Toothy gets angry and yells, “You never listen to me. All that matters to you is you!” This sets up the conflict for the rest of the story—Toothy has decided not to be friends with Squizzard. Squizzard tries to show Toothy that he is sorry by writing a poem. However, the poem needs work because it’s “creative, but it’s still all about you.” Toothy eventually forgives Squizzard, but only after Squizzard learns how to be less bossy and less self-centered.  

Fish Feud! will appeal to young readers because of its fun design. As a graphic novel, it has easy-to-follow paneling and artwork that supports text comprehension. Squizzard’s ocean world comes to life in bright colors and cartoonish illustrations that show exaggerated facial expressions to help readers understand the characters’ emotions. The story is broken up into six chapters and each page has two or more simple sentences. Fish Feud! is perfect for beginning and newly independent readers aged six to eight. 

Readers who love the Crabby Book Series by Jonathan Fenske will love Fish Feud because both books use humor to teach about friendship. In Fish Feud! Squizzard isn’t perfect. For example, for show and tell Squizzard draws a duck with a butt and shows it to the class to lots of laughs, but his teacher isn’t amused. Squizzard’s outrageous behavior will leave readers giggling, but the book also teaches how to be a better friend, the importance of forgiveness, and provides faces about coral reefs, barracudas, what lives in a conch shell, and more. 

Kevin Sherry has a knack for writing ridiculously silly stories that will engage readers. Like many children, Squizzard struggles with being bossy and selfish. But in the end, he shows Toothy that even though they don’t always agree, Toothy is still “my favorite dude. For you, I’d go to any end, if you’ll be friends with me again.”  

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• A fifth-grade fish bullies Squizzard. The bully says, “In fact, you need to start paying the guppy toll. You’ve got to give me something nice and shiny every week . . . or else!” Then the bully fish rips up Squizzard’s poem. Squizzard uses ink to get away from the bully.   
• The next time the bully appears, he brings two of his cronies. The bully threatens Squizzard and his friends. The bully says, “We eat shrimp like you for breakfast. Now give us a sand dollar. . . each.” Toothy chases the bullies away.  
• During lunch in the cafeteria, Squizzard accidentally starts a food fight. This fight is illustrated over two pages. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• OMG is used twice. 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None