One Wonderful Fine Day for a Sculpin Named Sam

Sue Giles was a librarian at the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto.

This beautifully illustrated and attractively presented hardcover book tells how one fine summer day Sam the sculpin goes for a swim. He encounters many undersea neighbors, such as Jeremiah Jelly fish and Lila Lobster; but, though he tries hard to be friendly, his overtures are rejected or he is completely ignored. A puzzled Sam finally plucks up the courage to ask a flatfish why he is treated this way. To his dismay he is told that he is all lumpy and ugly. Filled with sadness Sam is preparing to leave his old haunts when someone calls his name. Turning around he sees a beautiful fish — Sara Sculpin. They go off exploring, with Sam worrying about his looks. But as they swim along Sara assures him that he is not at all ugly but, in fact, positively handsome. Thus, the two sculpin swim off happily into the future.

Shawn Steffler has produced clear, sharp, and vividly colored illustrations to accompany the story, and they add immensely to the charm of the story. The pictures accurately reflect the story line and both text and picture are contained within a line border to give unity to a page. Also adding to the attractiveness of the book is its high-gloss paper.

This story and its illustrations should have great appeal to children in the pre-school and kindergarten to Grade 2 range. The only minor quibble is that Sam and Sara Sculpin are so beautifully presented as multicoloured (albeit lumpy) fish that it is hard to see how other fish could call them ugly!

The overall quality of this book makes it exceptional value for money in comparison with many other picture books on the market.