Download Orangey the Goldfish (Book 1) fb2

As the story commences it looks like it's either going to be one of two things, a lot of fun as a goldfish freaks out as it gets taken from the environment it knows (the large pet store fish tank where it lives with other fish) to a new environment (a family home) where it's fears will be overcome as it learns what love of an owner (a small child) is all about. That doesn't happen though. Or it could have been a book to teach through a fictional story about the responsibility that comes with owning a pet, or in particular a fish at least. The story doesn't go there either. The story itself, if you could really call it that since it lacks an ending doesn't really cover anything, event wise, moral or lesson wise. Basically a kid tells his dad he wants a fish, the dad gives in straight away and gets him one, he points to Orangey, the fish clearly isn't impressed, in fact is terrified. The boy takes it away in a bag not seemingly being careful with it or following whatever care instructions the pet store should have given. He then dumps the fish in a small bowl with water where clearly the fish is saying no, you're wondering if the fish is going to come close to dying since the water doesn't seem to have been checked to see it is the correct temperature and the fish is being poured straight out of the bag into the bowl, without the bag having been in the bowl first. But there's no making sure you do the right thing here kids lesson. Then somehow the fish is able to project its thoughts into the mind of the child by telling him its name but this is neither explained, expanded on in the storyline or even delved upon again. Then the kid wants to feed him, the father says sure you can feed him, the kid then says lets feed him fish food, as you can see a lot of effort has been put into the plot. The kid is then called to dinner while the fish it trying to convey it needs some enrichment devices such as seaweed, a treasure chest and more importantly other fish and the book just ends telling you if you want to read more Orangey adventures buy these other books.

The illustrations of the humans are well done but the fish is pretty average considering it's the main character. All the background is simply grey outlines with only the fish or people in colour. The story had a lot of potential but seems to have been published before it was completed. An editor or more importantly a group of kids to read it to first before deciding it was ready for publication was clearly needed.

Orangey is quite a simple and charming story, teaching children to take care of their pets (a goldfish in this case), very nicely illustrated and simple to follow. Children can read it themselves, because the language is rather easy to follow. As a parent and teacher, I have a pretty good idea of how I would read and discuss this book with my children and students, expand on the topic and get the children involved. Children who begin reading themselves might appreciate the comic book aspect of the book, which won't make them feel like babies, which is one of the things they don't like a lot. Teachers and parents need not worry about any inappropriate content in this book, and it provides a nice teaching tool, to which one can then add discussion about other pets, what we need to do when taking care of them, etc. If you are thinking about getting a goldfish for your little one, this book could be a good introduction into that topic.

I got this book a few weeks ago because it was free and for children, so I thought I'd try it. I'll list the pros & cons below, but at the end of the day, my daughter loves it for some reason and asks me to read it to her every night. In addition, the sequels are all ~$2-3 for the Kindle additions and continue the story nicely.

Pros:
- Clear and Good pictures on every page (Kindle Touch)
- Each page only has a few sentences (bubble thoughts...like a comic book)...good for kids' short attention spans
- Just 3 characters in the story. Easy for dad to make up and keep track of just 3 voices when reading :-)
- Up until the end, the story flows nicely

Cons:
- Really just one main con. It ends on a cliff hanger. Boy buys fish. Boy takes fish home. Boy feeds fish. Boy leaves for dinner. Fish asks where boy went. The End.
- UPDATE: The second story picks up right where the first one left off. We now have 3 Orangey stories and my daughter loves them all
- Smaller con...the boy eats fish food & gets scolded by his dad and the boy says "Yummy". I don't want my 3-year old thinking fish food is yummy and eating our own fish food, so I say "Yucky" instead of Yummy.

I couldn't decide if this was a book or a comic book. The illustrations look like a beginner cartoonist drew them who tried to use a computer drawing program. The illustrations were okay though for my daughter. She was satisfied with the pictures. It seems the story must continue with the next book because we were left hanging at the end. This was confusing to my 5 year old who had invested some attention span into the plight of Orangey. If the story is meant for this age group, then I would suggest a conclusion to the story. If it is written for older kids who can carry a story line to a next book, then the story is not complex enough or drawn well enough.

Orangey the Goldfish, Book 1
Colorful children's book about a bright orange goldfish. Little boy, Billy has promised to take care of his new goldfish. The fish is so happy to be in a new home.
He didn't like the bag at all after being bought from the store.
Too funny when the boy tastes the fish food to make sure it's gonna be good for the fish!
Other books about Orangey are highlighted at the end.

This book is funny and amazing. It tells you what you need to actually take care of a fish. I didn't like how the boy actually ate the food before he gave it to the fish. That is just really disgusting. Other than that the book is awesome amazing and wonderful.????????????????????????????
P.S I would recemened this book to little kids.