Memoirs of a Goldfish
Author: Devin Scillian
Illustrator: Tim Bowers
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Summary: This short picture book tells the day-by-day story of a goldfish whose
personal space is soon invaded one-by-one by various creatures, which leads to a very
dirty bowl. As the little goldfish gets more and more overwhelmed each day, he is finally
placed into a tiny bowl of clean water. He soon finds out that living in the tiny bowl is
lonely, and he begins to worry about the others. The next day he is reunited with his new
friends in a large tank with room for everyone, including a girl goldfish.
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Awards received:
o 2010 Mom's Choice Awards which honors excellence in family-friendly media,
products, and services.
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Reviews: From Amazon.com: “Today most picture books are all about the art--devoid of
any memorable or moving story. "Memoir of a Goldfish" is that rare find that combines
incredible art with a humorous and heartwarming tale. The expression of the goldfish's
eyes speak volumes, yet the text holds its own--the kind of story readers will remember,
revisit, and share. I loved this book so much I immediately shared it with someone
standing near me in the bookstore. Kinda creepy, I know . . . but I couldn't help it. I hope
more picture book authors learn the art of storytelling like this author. Young readers
deserve more books like this. What a fun read! “ -Wiley Blevins via Amazon.com
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Author Information, Devin Scillian: http://www.devinscillian.com/
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Illustrator Information, Tim Bowers: http://www.timbowers.com/
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Discussion Questions:
o Can you predict the story from the cover?
o What solution can you think of to fix the fishes’ problem of little space?
o How can the fish get along better?
o Did the goldfish really see his reflection? If not, who was it?
o How would you feel if you had to share your space with a bunch of people?
o How would you feel if you had the bowl to yourself again?
o Why were the fish happy in the end?
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Curricular Activities
o Reading/oral language – Read the story aloud. Have students discuss their
feelings if they were in a similar situation. Have students share personal stories
that connect to the book, such as sharing a room with a sibling.
o Writing –
 Write a story, fiction or non-fiction, of a time when you had to share a
room or a toy with someone else.
 Summarize the book in a short paragraph.
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o
o
o
o
o
o
Record a memoir of a part of your life that involved a conflict or a lesson
learned.
Math/ Technology –
 Younger students can do addition problems related to the number of fish
that enter the bowl each day. Or you can go backwards and do subtraction
problems.
 Older students may do multiplication problems dealing with the slime in
the bowl. For example:
 Mervin can eat 20 units of slime each day. If each fish produces 3
units of slime per day, can Mervin keep up with the slime on day
eight? Nine? Twelve?
Science – Research the different kinds of fish portrayed in the book and their
living condition needs. See what changes need to be made for the fish to live in
harmony.
Social Studies – Have students discuss the friendship theme of this story and how
they can take what they’ve learned from this book and apply it to their own lives.
This can be used in a lesson about sharing, neighborhood, families, etc.
Art –
 Draw a fishbowl with as many different objects and fish in it as you can.
 Create a collage of the fish in the big tank with a quote about friendship
and working together.
Drama – Act out skits of people or animals learning how to share or work
together.
Music – Make up a song about living, sharing, or working together with others.
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Related Books:
o We Share Everything – Robert Munsch
o Best Friends for Frances – Russell Hoban
o When I was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth – Jamie Lee Curtis
o Pout-Pout Fish – Deborah Diesen
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Other titles by Becker:
o A is for America: An American Alphabet (and many other alphabet books)
o Brewster the Rooster
o Cosmo's Moon
o Fibblestax
o One Kansas Farmer: A Kansas Number Book
o One Nation: America by the Numbers
o Pappy's Handkerchief
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Other titles by Denton:
o Princess Pig by Eileen Spinelli
o First Dog written by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello
o Gorgonzola A Very Stinkysaurus written by Margie Palatini
o Dogku written Andrew Clements
o The Bravest of the Brave written by Shutta Crum
o A New Home by Tim Bowers
o Websites for Further Study:
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Websites for further study or enrichment:
o http://www.flash-games.net/online/2573/memory-of-a-goldfish.html Students can
see how many fish they can remember in the ocean scene; you can relate this to
remembering what fish were in the bowl in the book.
o http://www.aquariumfish.net/information/fish_for_children.htm This website is a
guide for kids on how to take care of their fish.
o http://www.humanityquest.com/topic/art_activities/index.asp?theme1=friendshi
List of friendship themed activities.