You can discuss and explore fish any time of the year. This post shares fish picture books that you can use for this purpose. All of the picture books on this list lend themselves to this topic really well. Take a peek below to learn more about these Fish Picture Books!
5 Fish Picture Books
Below is a list of some of our favorite fish picture books to share with elementary students. Check them out!
1. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
The story Swimmy by Leo Lionni is about a fish named Swimmy. The school of fish that Swimmy lives with gets eaten by a tuna fish at the beginning of the story. Swimmy is able to escape because he is the fastest swimmer. He travels through the sea and runs into many different sea creatures.
Swimmy comes across a group of red fish just like the school of fish that he used to belong to. They are hiding in the shade of rocks and weeds to avoid being eaten by a big fish. Swimmy leads them in forming a great big fish by working together as a team. They are able to scare off the big fish when it comes to eat them.
Check out these Swimmy teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
2. Not Norman by Kelly Bennett
The main character in this book is a young boy who wanted a pet for his birthday. He is disappointed to find that his parents got him a goldfish instead of a cat or dog like he wanted. The boy names his goldfish Norman, but plans on taking him back to the pet store to trade for another pet.
However, as time goes on the boy realizes there are many things about Norman that he likes. At school, Norman is the only one listening to his story during Show and Tell. Norman likes listening to the boy play his tuba during his music lesson and even makes the boy laugh. When the boy is scared in the middle of the night, Norman is there for him. When it is time to pick a new pet at the store, the boy realizes that none of the pets there are like Norman. He decides to keep his goldfish after all.
Check out these Not Norman teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
3. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Rainbow Fish was unlike any of the other fish in the sea. He had sparkling, shimmering scales all over. The other fish were amazed by his beauty and always wanted Rainbow Fish to play with them.
One day, a little blue fish asked Rainbow Fish for one of his scales. Rainbow Fish was shocked! How could someone expect him to give up one of his beautiful scales? He was rude to the little fish, who swam away and told all his friends. After hearing about how Rainbow Fish treated the other fish, no one asked Rainbow Fish to play anymore. He found himself feeling very lonely.
Rainbow Fish went to see the octopus for advice. She told him that he should start giving the other fish some of his scales and that is how he would learn to be happy. Rainbow Fish was unsure at first. When he saw the little blue fish again, he decided to give away one small scale. The little fish was so happy, and so was Rainbow Fish. He decided to give away more scales to the other fish and was filled with so much joy. Everyone was so happy to have a shimmery scale and again everyone wanted to play with Rainbow Fish.
Check out these The Rainbow Fish teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
4. The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Deborah Diesen’s book,The Pout Pout Fish, is about a glum fish that always has a pout on his face. Mr. Fish thinks that because he always has a pout on his face, he is meant to spread the “dreary-wearies” wherever he goes. Throughout the book, different sea creatures approach Mr. Fish and try to get him to stop pouting. They suggest he try smiling, turn his frown upside down, and ask not to be greeted with a scowl. Mr. Fish explains that he wishes he could change, but he can’t. He is a pout-pout fish and it’s not up to him.
Then, a new fish comes along. She is bright and a great swimmer. Instead of talking to Mr. Fish like the others, she swims right up, gives him a kiss and swims away. Mr. Fish can’t believe what happened! He realizes that he has been wrong all along. He is not a pout-pout fish; he is a kiss-kiss fish. His face is meant to spread cheer all over so he does just that! Mr. Fish gives everyone a smooch and starts to spread cheer throughout the ocean.
Check out these The Pout Pout Fish teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
5. Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones
H and Baby Em and Little O lived in their apartment in the city. They had three goldfish: Barracuda and Patch and Fiss. It was summer, and the children enjoyed looking at the old fountain outside their window. It was broken and covered in ivy, but their grandfather told them stories of what the fountain used to be like.
Back before people had cars, people got around the city by riding horses. They horses would stop at the fountain for water and children even splashed and played in the fountain.
One day, the children noticed a sign on the fountain. The city was going to have a goldfish vacation in the fountain that summer. The children rushed home to tell their fish and grandpa. As it got closer to the vacation, the children watched a man start to clean up the fountain. He added water, reeds and lily pads.
On the first day of the vacation, many children gathered at the fountain to drop off their fish. Throughout the summer, the children returned to visit their goldfish. Soon, they came to the fountain to see all the other children. Grandpa sat with them and told everyone stories of what the fountain was like when he was a boy.
At the end of the summer, all of the children went into the fountain to get their fish. They jumped and splashed just like Grandpa did many years before.
Check out these Goldfish on Vacation teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
Grab the Free Reading Resources!
In closing, we hope you found this list of fish picture books helpful! They are part of our Starts With a Story collection. If you want to get more book ideas to read aloud to your elementary students, then grab this reading freebie. It includes read aloud books lists, reading logs, and reading challenges for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers. It will have you covered for the entire school year, as well as the summer months! Grab this free elementary reading packet now!
