Poor Doreen: A Fishy Tale by Sally Lloyd-Jones

Poor Doreen: A Fishy Tale is reviewed by MaryAnne Locher

“Ignorance equals bliss in this amusing, cleverly executed tale.” – Kirkus Starred Review

Anyone who has ever gone fishing or known someone who has, has told, or been told, a fishing tale. An eight inch long fish becomes two feet long, and we’ve all heard of the big fish that got away. In Poor Doreen: A Fishy Tale by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, (Schwartz & Wade Books 2014, $17.99, Ages 4-8), Mrs. Doreen Randolph-Potts has a fish tale to tell of her own, only hers is true!

Boiger uses watercolor, gouache, pencil, and colored pencil on unbleached Fabriano watercolor paper to achieve the vibrant watery world Doreen travels through, happily ignorant of the perils lurking around her. Doreen is swimming upstream to visit her second cousin twice removed, who’s just had 157 babies, when she sees a delicious dragonfly which is, unbeknownst to our heroine, a fisherman’s lure. “GOODY!” Doreen cries. “How lucky for me! A lovely snack for my journey!”

A myriad of fish look on sympathetically, as the narrator bemoans Doreen’s bad luck.

It’s not a dragonfly.
Oh, poor Doreen. No.
It’s a HOOK.
And it’s not a treat.
It’s a TRAP.
And the one thing you’re not is lucky.

I adore how ​Lloyd-Jones has written Doreen’s story from the perspective of a child who has never had their innocence taken away by having had a bad experience. Always positive, Doreen exclaims, “BRAVO!” and thanks the Great Blue Heron, who swoops in and takes her from the fisherman, for helping her on her journey upstream. (Of course, he intends to eat her!)

Parents, and fish afficianados, don’t fret. By hook or by crook, Doreen makes her way to her reunion with her second cousin twice removed, and her 157 babies, unharmed. This is a perfect cautionary story. It allows the reader to see the dangers Doreen faces for themselves, but with a sense of lightheartedness that opens the door to deeper conversation.