Pendreigh, Kirsten. What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean. Katie Melrose, Illus. Sourcebooks Explore, 06/2025. [40]pp. Nonfiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-4642-1896-5. GRADES Kindergarten–4. OUTSTANDING.
Conversational, rhyming text invites us along on a peaceful kayak journey to discover if fish also swim silently in the blue. Readers quickly learn – “Oh! No! It’s NOISY down below!” Cheerful, colorful, richly-patterned, digitally-manipulated illustrations feature a host of specific species and one, omnipresent, snapping shrimp. Humorous verse clues readers to the sounds made and, importantly, to the how and why of the noise. Rarely is a rollicking read-aloud full of so much onomatopoeia and so many delightful, scientific details simultaneously. Back matter includes a focus on the snapping shrimp’s cavitation, what hydrophones hear, where to hear recordings, fun noisemaker facts, and an important note on fish ears and why fish hear differently than humans. Sadly, the cavitation explanation misses the opportunity to include the relevant information to make sense of the rhyme that asserts snapping shrimp bubbles are “Hot as the SUN!”
Melissa McAvoy—Retired