A perk of my job is to see the books ordered by customers as I process them. I had seen the title This is a Poem That Heals Fish on the list to be ordered and was thinking it was going to be odd. And when it came in, I gave it a small peek. Yes, it is odd. But Jean-Pierre Simeon’s work is more than just odd. It is a poem within a poem within a poem (I think I captured all the layers).
Our narrator Arthur has a pet fish that is not well. And in a hurry, his mother tells Arthur to give the fish a poem and off she goes. Arthur (and me) has no idea what this means so he goes off to family and friends to ask them what a poem is and how he can give his fish one. The results are as varied as the people he asked, including such nuggets as “a poem is when you hear the heartbeat of a stone” and it is “what poets write but they might not know it.” Each answers fits the personality of the person who gives it. And the end results are helpful as Arthur can make them.
Olivier Tallec had the honor of illustrating this picture book. The signature style of Tallec is loud and proud. The art is not “realistic” nor “cartoonish” but has a classically modern and old school feeling to it. They are nice, romantic, cozy, and bold and bright. They are comfortable and fit the tone but might not appeal to all tastes. For at least ages five and up, and even more aimed at the seven and up crowd. Would work well in poetry assignments for all ages, too.