A sweet story about children learing about the beauty in all creatures.

When Beth and Paul find an ugly, dead fish of the shoreline, they understandingly feel afraid and scared. But when they find a group of these same fish stuck in a pond with no acess to the sea, they are compelled to help and in doing so learn about the value of life, no matter what form it takes.

A big thank you to the author for sending me a free copy of the book as a winner of a Goodreads giveaway.

Beth and Paul live near the lake and love spending time in the water and on the beach. The do not like going near the willow tree where the water is stagnant and the ugly carp live there. They are worried that the carp might nibble their toes. Their dad tells them that they are one of nature and God's creatures and they are all part of the world. When the lake rises in the spring, the yard floods and a small pond forms near the willow tree. As the water starts to recede, the children check out the pond and find tadpoles and carp. They still think they are ugly. As the pond shrinks though, they are worried the carp will die without water. They go to their dad for help and he tells them that they can try and save the carp by digging a trench from the pond to the lake. When the neighbours hear what they are doing, they come to help and eventually the carp swim to freedom.

Once all the carp are in the lake, Beth, Paul and their father stand on the edge of the lake and reflect with pride on what they have done. This is an excellent nature book for it gives the lesson that animals, even wild ones, need to be taken care of. Despite their dislike of the appearance of the carp, Beth and Paul work to save them and when they are done, they feel very good about what they have accomplished. It also shows us that outward appearances of creatures and people do not measure the worth of that creature or person. Moral decisions and how they affect the world could also be discussed.

The illustrations are also very well done, there is a great deal of detail in the people, the background and the animals.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Beth and Paul are siblings that live near a lake. They love spending their summers playing in the sand and swimming in the lake. One day they come across a dead carp on the beach and are afraid of them. They don't like the carps because they are scaly with barbels or mustaches that come out next to their mouth. The kids decide to avoid the area the carps swim in under the weeping willows.

During a spring thaw, the lake floods into the family's yard. As it recedes, a pond is left under the weeping willow. When the children explore the pond, they find tadpoles and frogs and carp. The carp had gotten stuck in the pond when the flood receded and left the carp behind. With the pond quickly drying up, the carp will soon die. Beth and Paul have to decide if the carp are important enough to save and how they could do it.

Maddock has created a really wonderful story with meaning and lessons about taking care of God's creatures. Ouano's illustrations are quite gorgeous and remind me of summers on the lake when I was growing up. Carp were a common fish in our area and I remember thinking they were ugly too.

This book would make a great Sunday School lesson or children's time during church. There is plenty of opportunities for discussion and lessons to be taught along with this story. With all the hate in our world today, this is a refreshing example to share with our children about showing love not hate and all of God's creatures have value. ( )

Beth and Paul don't like carp fish. They are actually a little scared of them. That's why they don't go near the weeping willow anymore.
But one day the carp fish need help. They are trapped and the water level is getting lower and lower. What a challenge for Beth and Paul!
Despite their fear these generous kids, with Dad and neighbors of the area will work together digging a canal to allow the carp fish to escape. How happy everyone was when they finally succeed and the carp fish swam free!

Beautiful message about taking care of all the creatures, even those that aren't "cute". This story is all about sense of responsibility, team work, and concern about the nature.

Age range: 4 to 8 years old.

I received this copy from the author through Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Check out more children's book reviews in my Reviews in Chalk Blog! ( )