BOOK REVIEW:
“Ogden, The Fish Who Couldn’t Swim Straight” by Gabrielle Yetter (CreateSpace, 36 pages, $9.95)
Gabrielle “Gabi” Yetter couldn’t have picked a better time to write about a colorful, fictional fish. Released at the same time as the popular film, “Finding Dory,” Yetter’s first children’s book parallels “Dory” by teaching life lessons with charm and humor.
As its title suggests, “Ogden, The Fish Who Couldn’t Swim Straight,” is the story of a little fish who has trouble moving forward, literally and figuratively. Ogden begins his life as a prize for a game at a fairground.
His sphere of movement is limited to the plastic bag filled with water in which he lives and from which he looks out at the world. The bag is small so the only way Ogden can swim is in circles.
Ogden’s life is changed dramatically when a little boy wins him and rushes off happily with his prize. The boy accidentally drops the plastic bag into a nearby river. The bag breaks, and the little fish has freedom to move for the first time in his short life.
Unfortunately, Ogden is crippled by two factors. First, never having swum straight, he has no idea how to break his habit of moving in small circles.
Second, he fears his new freedom and the wide world it represents.
Eventually, he realizes that he will be forced do something; he needs to eat and find companionship. He is stymied, however — until a friendly green eel named Finkelstein helps him cultivate the courage and the skill to begin moving forward in life.
“Ogden” doesn’t have a complicated narrative, but its simplicity adds to its appeal. So does the book’s look. Gabi Yetter wrote recently that she came up with the story many years ago, but was waiting for just the right partners to help her put Ogden’s tale into book form.
She found those partners in Cambodia, where she spent several years working with her husband Skip; the story of their journey is told in the book the couple published jointly in 2015, “Just Go!”
A friend in Phnom Penh introduced Gabrielle Yetter to artist Daro Sam and graphic designer Monnyreak Ket. “They were imaginative, creative and incredibly talented,” explained Yetter. “What’s more, they loved Ogden and agreed to do the book.”
The Yetters moved on from Cambodia, but in this world of email the collaborators managed to finish the book and get it into print. They should be proud of “Ogden.” This bright, engaging tale will inspire children and adults alike.
Gabrielle Yetter will sign copies of “Ogden, The Fish Who Couldn’t Swim Straight” today, July 9, from 10 a.m. to noon at the World Eye Bookshop, Main Street in Greenfield.
Tinky Weisblat is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” Visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com