A Fish Out of Water (book) facts for kids
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Front cover
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| Author | Based on Gustav, the Goldfish from Redbook made by: Dr. Seuss (uncredited) Adapted by: Helen Palmer Geisel |
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| Illustrator | Based on Gustav, the Goldfish from Redbook made by: Dr. Seuss (uncredited) Illustrated by: P. D. Eastman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Beginner Books/Random House |
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Publication date
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June 29, 1961 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-394-80023-0 |
| OCLC | 417086758 |
A Fish out of Water is a popular children's book from 1961. It was written by Helen Palmer Geisel, who was known as Helen Palmer. The pictures were drawn by P. D. Eastman.
This book is based on an older story. It came from "Gustav, the Goldfish," a short story by Helen Palmer's husband, Theodor Geisel. You might know him better as Dr. Seuss. His original story was in Redbook magazine in June 1950.
What's the Story About?
The story begins with a boy who buys a fish named Otto. He gets Otto from a pet store owner, Mr. Carp. Mr. Carp gives the boy very clear rules for feeding Otto. He says, "Never feed him a lot. Just so much, and no more! Never more than a spot! Or something may happen. You never know what."
But the boy feels sorry for Otto and gives him too much food. Because of this, Otto starts to grow super fast! He quickly becomes too big for his fishbowl. The boy has to move Otto into bigger and bigger places. First, it's a series of larger containers. Then, Otto ends up in the bathtub. When Otto outgrows the tub, the house starts to flood!
The boy then asks for help from a police officer and the fire department. They help him take Otto to the local swimming pool. When they drop Otto in, he grows to the size of the whole pool! This scares away all the swimmers. Since Otto keeps growing, the boy calls Mr. Carp. Mr. Carp isn't surprised. He knows boys often ignore his feeding rules.
When Mr. Carp arrives, he dives into the pool. He pulls Otto underwater. After a moment, he comes back up with Otto. The fish is now back to its normal size! Mr. Carp doesn't say how he did it. But he tells the boy never to overfeed Otto again. The boy promises to follow this advice.
How the Book Was Made
The idea for A Fish out of Water came from a short story. It was called "Gustav, the Goldfish." Dr. Seuss wrote and drew the pictures for this story. It was first published in Redbook magazine in June 1950. This was the first of his children's stories for Redbook.
"Gustav, the Goldfish" is very similar to A Fish out of Water. They have the same plot and characters. However, in the original story, the goldfish is named Gustav, not Otto. Also, the pet shop owner is Mr. VanBuss, not Mr. Carp. Dr. Seuss's original story was later put into a book. It was part of the 2011 collection called The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories.
In 1959, Dr. Seuss wrote a letter to his wife, Helen Palmer. He gave her permission to write a book for the Beginner Books series. This new book would be based on his original story. He told her she could use any parts of his story she wanted. But she had to make sure his original copyright was protected.
Helen Palmer's job was to rewrite and simplify the story. She needed to make it fit the rules for Beginner Books. She finished A Fish out of Water in 1961. She was staying in New York City at the time. She joked that this final version was "the 9,373rd version" of the book!
