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Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Ella Minnow and the New Fish is a children's picture book written by John D. Avera and illustrated by Crystal Johnson. One day when Ella went to her school, her friend Billy told her about the new fish in school. This new guy only had one fin, Billy explained, and he swam in circles. Billy thought it was pretty funny, but Ella remembered how hard it was to be the new fish on her first day at Lake Cumberland Fish School, and she decided to find this new fish and become his friend. Everyone Ella met in the hallways was discussing him, but still Ella hadn't seen him. During lunch, she glanced out the cafeteria window and thought she saw a strange fish, and then when she went over to the part of the lake where she practiced her laps, she finally met him. While she wanted to listen to what he had to say, she still couldn't help staring at the place where his fin was missing. Then she heard him say that he could do everything she could, but in a different way. It wasn't until the day of their big swim meet that Ella realized that what he said was for real.
John D. Avera's picture book for children, Ella Minnow and the New Fish, shows children that some people have disabilities, but they can still do the same types of things everyone else does, just differently. Ella first finds common ground with Dylan as she remembers being the new kid, but their friendship goes to a higher plane when she sees the truth in his words about being able to do the same things she does. Crystal Johnson's illustrations are marvelous! Between Avera's script and Johnson's inspired artwork, the reader really begins to get the feeling for being in an underwater world and watching a truly aquatic swim meet. Avera demystifies the strangeness kids may fear when meeting disabled persons, and shows through this story that the things the disabled have in common with you are so much more than one's first impression may make you think. Ella Minnow and the New Fish is most highly recommended.
