Wiesner, David.
FISH GIRL
New York : Clarion, 2017
IL 5-8 RL 2.7
ISBN 0544815122

(2 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Fish Girl lives in an aquarium.  She doesn't remember too much of her life before this.  But now she has a job to do.  As "Neptune" wows the crowd with tale of exotic creatures and how he controls the sea, he tells them that a mermaid lives in the aquarium.  Fish Girl's job is to swim around in the tanks and tease the audience but never to let them really see her.  When one girl goes behind the scenes and discovers Fish Girl, will things be ruined forever?  Will they really just want to cut her up and experiment on her?  Or will the girl help her keep her secret?

Booktalk #2

A mermaid called Fish Girl lives in aquarium as the main attraction on an ocean boardwalk. The owner leads her to believe he is Neptune, the once-great ruler of the Ocean, and tells her that she can not full reveal herself to the outside world. But one day she meets a girl about her age and through their friendship, learns about the tank she is kept in and the world beyond what she knows, inspiring her to learn more and explore the outside world. (Garden State Children's Book Awards nominee, 2020)