Poor Doreen: A Fishy Tale by Sally Lloyd-Jones (review)

Miss Doreen Randolph-Potts, an “Ample Roundy Fish,” is on her way to visit her cousin when she is caught by a fisherman. One would think Doreen would be terrified, but she is buoyantly clueless about the dangers that face her: she thinks the dragonfly lure is real and that she is “a remarkable swimmer” as the fisherman speedily reels her in. When he gives the final yank that sends her flying toward him through the air, she cries “Yippee! I’m going on an outing!” to which the unseen narrator responds, “Oh dear, Doreen. No. You’re not.” A blithe disregard for reality carries the unflappable Doreen through her experiences of being unhooked and put in a pail of water, being stolen from said bucket by a great blue heron, and, finally, being dropped from a great height back into the water by the bird. It all makes for an exciting and cheerful story that Doreen then relays to her cousin. The cautionary narrative asides, sonorous language (“Through the glittering water she spies a dragonfly, darting, dancing deliciously above her”), and Doreen’s complete (but enthusiastic) misunderstanding of her situation make this a boatload of fun to read aloud. Boiger’s watercolor, gouache, pencil, and colored pencil illustrations are pleasantly watery, but some of the paler tones and contrasts might not translate well to larger crowds. Still, one can’t help but like the oblivious and rotund Doreen in her jaunty red headscarf and inexplicably toting a red umbrella, and her tale will likely make a splash, either as the silly story it is or as a lesson in perspective.