Customer Reviews

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Goldfish are not exactly exciting, and the boy in this story had dreamt of a different pet: "One who could run and catch. Or one who could climb trees and chase strings."

But alas, he's received Norman, "a sorry-looking fish in a gunky bowl." If he takes Norman to show-and-tell, will someone want to swap with him? No ... but soon Norman's quiet, reassuring presence is making the boy's heart flip. He decides he wouldn't trade Norman for "any pet in the whole world."

The phrase "Not Norman," bookmarks the story, and in a clever twist it means one thing at the beginning and just the opposite at the end.

In his first children's book, Jones' expressive illustrations of boy and fish accentuate the story's silly side. He depicts Norman blowing bubbles, smiling at the boy, boogeying to his tuba playing. The cover illustration plays with shapes-the boy's head mirrors the fishbowl's dimensions. As the boy peers through the bowl, we can see his eyes-and a floating Norman takes the place of his mouth and nose.

The author is quoted on the leaf: "Fish are fun and funny. Just watching them makes me laugh." She and Jones have succeeded, glug, glug, in communicating fondness for the humble goldfish.

Not Norman: A Goldfish Story is a lovely story about a little boy who really wants a more interactive pet. Instead, he gets a pet that is always there for him, is always attentive and is always awake!!!! Unconditional love! This is a fun read for kids and it has clear concise pictures for children to enjoy!!! Great book!

Be forewarned...your kids may want a goldfish. But that's far easier to do than the MANY books out there that have kids begging for dogs. :)

This book is just so cute. The story itself as well as the delightful illustrations. My kids just giggled and giggled while I was reading. They even laughed harder at Norman's version of events. As an amazing bonus, the author, Kelly Bennet, wrote a version of the story from Norman's point of view.

It is simply adorable and after hearing Norman so many times the kids just rolled on the floor howling at Norman's story. Read it and you'll even find out the unnamed boy in the story is called Curtis. There you'll also find activities and teacher guides for Not Norman. Great resource we came by unexpectantly while researching this author (to see if she had any more great books!)

Best thing about this book is the message that you just might find something good in the place least expected. I hope you enjoy Not Norman as much as my kiddies!

This book is wonderful. We checked it out from the Library and now I plan on buying for all the children on my birthday list. My 2 1/2 year old son insist that we read it at least twice a day and sometimes more. I even checked it out for his school library and I am sure he is also reading it at school.
This book is wonderful. My son knows when to say Not Norman and some of the other simple text in the book. The pictures are wonderful. This is just an all around wonderful book.

I bought this book, along with about 10 others, for my 21 month old daughter. She is a big "reader", but she won't go to sleep without reading it at least twice. She loves it so much, that I took her to buy a goldfish yesterday, and she immediately started calling it "Norman" (without my prompting). And, when it's near our mealtime (and I know she's getting hungry), she associates that feeling with the fish, and asks me to feed him. Unbelievable. Thank you, Kelly and Noah! Keep up the great work.

This story could not be cuter, and what a great message! We read it again and again.

I absolutely love this story! It is so adoreable and has such a good message. Children of all ages will absolutely fall in love with Norman.

A cute and clever story about a young boy who wants a soft, furry pet and ends up with a goldfish. He says he's going to take Norman, the goldfish, back to the pet store, but Norman wins the boy over by making him laugh, listening to him, appreciating the boy's tuba playing, and watching out for him.

The refrain, "Not Norman," meaning the boy doesn't want Norman, turns into his not wanting to give up Norman. A sweet book about learning how to appreciate what you have, and of the joys of goldfish ownership.

It's also nice to see a brown-skinned protagonist in a picture book that's not about "issues" or race, but instead about love of an aquatic pet.

"When I got Norman, I didn't want to keep him. I wanted a different kind of pet. Not Norman."

There are lots of stories about a boy and his dog, but this is something different, the story of a boy and his goldfish! When he first got Norman the boy was very disappointed, but taking him to school in an attempt to arrange a trade, the boy began to learn that Norman was a much better pet than he had first thought.

This is a cute and silly book. It is well-illustrated and has lots of fun things happening throughout the story. My little reader really enjoyed the book, and so did I!

This is a very cute book. A story about love with a twist. I can't tell too much without giving away the premise of the story but a boy is stuck with a pet he didn't really want. The book is all about him coming to terms with that and learning to love his new pet anyway.