- Picture Books
- Ages 3–6
- Comedy
Don't Trust Fish!
A very funny mock-warning about why fish are definitely not to be trusted, illustrated with Dan Santat's big comic energy. It is a strong newer pick for children who like absurd animal facts, conspiracy-style silliness and read-aloud comedy.
- Best for3–6
- FormatPicture
- Length40 pp
- Read aloud~8 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Second person
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Absurdist
- Irreverent
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
This book has one urgent message: do not trust fish. Fish spend all their time underwater, which is suspicious. A group of fish is called a school, which raises even more questions. What are they learning down there? What are they planning? Neil Sharpson takes the voice of an increasingly ridiculous narrator and turns ordinary fish facts into a mock-serious warning, while Dan Santat's expressive illustrations heighten the joke on every page. The result is a laugh-out-loud picture book that mixes animal information with absurd paranoia, giving adults plenty of performance opportunities and children the pleasure of spotting how silly the argument is. It works as a comedy read-aloud, a light introduction to fish, and a useful discussion starter about not believing every dramatic claim you hear.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–6
- Read aloud · 3–7
- Independent · 6–8
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Funny animal facts
- Unreliable narrator
- Fish books
- Laugh out loud read aloud
- Media literacy light
Avoid if
- Wants gentle sincere animal story
- Dislikes absurd humour
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Interested in science
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A laugh-out-loud read-aloud that hilariously warns you about fish — silly fun with a sly nod to how we classify animals.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the increasingly unhinged warning — fish spend all their time underwater which is suspicious, a group of them is called a school which raises further questions, the narrator getting more paranoid by the page while Dan Santat draws fish looking innocent. The Sharpson/Santat read-aloud that demands performance.
- Trickery and cleverness
- Animal companions
Why parents love it
The Neil Sharpson / Dan Santat picture book — mock-serious unreliable narration, conspiracy-comedy applied to ordinary fish facts. Performs spectacularly aloud. Useful as a not-everything-dramatic-is-true conversation starter, but mostly just very funny.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Conversation starter
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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