Fish and Crab by Marianna Coppo

You could begin with the dedication by Marianna Coppo - "To all insomniacs, for one reason or another." - or better yet share this after reading this book with a group of older children and then talk about what this means.

Fish and Crab are tucked up in their aquarium beds. Crab turns out the light. Then Fish hears a noise and his fears bubble to the surface. Could it be an owl? Do owls eat fish? Could it be a mouse? Crab explains there are no owls and no mice in their aquarium also there are "no lions, in case you were wondering." Clearly it is going to be a long night so Crab gets out of bed to make a cup of herbal tea.

"then I want you to tell me ALL your worries. ALL OF THEM, all at once. And when you're done, we will both finally go to sleep."

Fish has a wild imagination involving capture by aliens, black holes, and even the possibility of catching chickenpox. And then he has the most terrifying thought of all:

"WHAT IF WE ARE CHARACTERS IN A BOOK?"

After all this sharing Fish now feels able to fall asleep but what about Crab. His brain is now filled with all of these crazy ideas - will he be able to go to sleep? That final question is an especially disturbing one!

Take a look at the labels I have assigned this book. These might give you ideas about ways to share this book - you could use it as a stimulus for a writing activity involving dialogue. Or with older students there is a whole topic of 'breaking the fourth wall'. And of course, this book is also about the way our worries can take over our thoughts and the importance of sharing.

Now for the bad news. This book [9781797204437] was published in 2023 so it is still in print but here in Australia the price ranges from AUS$32 up to AUS$47.

Silly what-if questions arranged into a light but visually appealing bedtime story. Kirkus 

Parents and children alike will relate to the two best friends, reassuring readers that it is always best to share any worries with those closest to us, to help the fears go away. Coppo’s effective illustrations have a wonderful attention to detail and perfectly capture the conversations and bursts of Fish’s imagination, with clever use of black and white images too. This fun picture book will be one to share and enjoy for many bedtimes to come. Books for Keeps

I previously talked about Petra by Marianna Coppo. Marianna Coppo is an author-illustrator from Italy. She studied editorial illustration at MiMaster in Milan, and now focuses on freelance illustration in Rome.

In this interview Marianna Coppo talks about Petra

Here is another (slightly more serious) book featuring an aquarium:

Aquarium