A Fish Name Fred is a children’s animal picture book written by Tamara Neal and illustrated by Lovyaa Garg. Papa Freddie and Grandma Tammy didn’t have a single pet to share their little old house with until one day something surprising happened. Papa Freddie found a dirty, discarded fishbowl in the corner of a room in the house he was cleaning. People had just moved out of the house, and they had left the bowl there. The dirty, murky water inside the bowl smelt awful, and Papa rushed into the bathroom to pour it out into the toilet. As he began to do so, he heard a tiny voice begging him to stop. He hesitated and, looking down, saw a fish clinging desperately to the side of the fishbowl. That fish definitely did not want to be flushed down the toilet. Papa Freddie put him in a container with fresh water, and he called Grandma to tell her about his find. She insisted that he go get the fish a new fishbowl, and they keep him as a pet.

Tamara Neal’s children’s animal picture book, A Fish Name Fred, highlights the importance of accepting others even if they are different. We learn that Fred’s abandonment was precisely because he was different from the other fish the family had. This fable has its roots in the author’s husband’s real life experience of finding an abandoned fish in an empty house. I loved how the author expanded that story into a compelling narrative about an engaging talking fish who finds a good home and family. Neal’s use of repetition in the story will help young readers recognize words and feel confident reading stories like this on their own, but it’s also a great selection for story time. A Fish Name Fred is highly recommended.

All is not well in the world of a goldfish. At the beginning of A Fish Name Fred by Tamara Neal, the poor fish is living in a little glass bowl filled with water that is so dirty and mucky you couldn't even see that someone lived in it! Freddie, who was cleaning a house another family had vacated, was about to pour all the water into a toilet, but fortunately the little goldfish held onto his life with all his might and managed to get Freddie's attention before it was too late. Surely, being flushed down a toilet isn't a nice end. The goldfish had been abandoned by the people who used to live in the house, and Freddie thought that he and his family would make sure the poor little goldfish would have a good life from now on. So he gave him fresh, clean water and put him into a place where he could be admired by the whole family. From then on, the goldfish was named Fred.

I didn't pick up A Fish Name Fred by Tamara Neal because I have children of my own. But every now and then I like checking out children's books to see whether there are some that would be suitable to recommend to others. Sometimes people ask me for recommendations because I read a lot and am a writer so clearly in people's eyes, I HAVE to know a good book in each genre! We also have lots of contact with kids here (at an animal sanctuary) and books about animals are always something I prefer to recommend, especially when the book has a clear and good message about how to treat animals. Tamara Neal's book ticks all the right boxes: nicely designed, charming, teaches about how NOT to treat animals and how to do things right. It's a nice little story with a powerful message, and it's easy enough for young readers to understand. I am sure that kids who read this story - or have it read to them by their parents - will learn some important lessons and hopefully grow into adults that won't abandon animals. I really enjoyed reading Fred's story; it left me in a happy place even though I'm clearly not a child any longer. But let's face it: books for children are often just very nice to read if you need a bit of a 'cheer me up!'

A Fish Name Fred is a wonderful story of survival and kindness, a heartwarming story about a fish that endures unhealthy living conditions and finds a good home. Fred was abandoned and left behind, but a caring gentleman finds him and takes him home. Fred the fish triumphs and happily makes the transition from a container of dirty water into a goldfish bowl with clean water. Author Tamara Neal has written a feel-good story that children, parents, and teachers will enjoy. Illustrator Lovyaa Garg provides beautiful illustrations that fill the pages with bold colors that help to draw young readers into the story. Her lovely artwork brings you into the room with Fred.

A Fish Name Fred is a wonderful story that keeps adding words to the sentence. The repetition is part of the magic of the story. The sentence keeps getting longer and longer. If readers liked The House That Jack Built or The Twelve Days of Christmas, they’ll like A Fish Name Fred because it has a similar style that keeps building on the original sentence. Children and parents will enjoy this happily-ever-after story of a fish that overcomes obstacles and endures the dirty living conditions. Fred provides optimism and a positive experience. Caring people often adopt cats and dogs, which have come from a bad living environment, but why not a fish? Author Tamara Neal has written an inspiring story of endurance about a fish who patiently waits to be adopted by a loving family. It’s a heartwarming story that I would highly recommend to libraries and schools.

The children’s book A Fish Name Fred by Tamara Neal had a good message. A fish is abandoned in an empty house for being different. A nice man rescues him, and the man’s wife promises to always love the fish, no matter how different he is. I chose to read A Fish Name Fred with my 6-year-old daughter. She enjoyed the story and was very upset that Fred was left behind in the house in dirty water. My daughter liked the repetition and even got into saying the thing about the “brown, yucky, murky-looking water.” I did feel some of the sentences were a bit too long.

Author Tamara Neal's message in A Fish Name Fred is an important one. Kids deal with abandonment and being different every day of their lives. Not many books talk about it. The story was entertaining and kept me wondering what would happen next. I did feel some of the sentences were a bit too long, and I think that how the fish was so different should have been touched on a little more, but my daughter didn't have a problem with it and understood it was because he could talk. The illustrations were cute and showed everything that occurred in the book. Overall, both my daughter and I enjoyed this book and its important message.

A Fish Name Fred by Tamara Neal is an educational children’s book which allows us as parents, grandparents and teachers to help kids to understand social issues and, more precisely, abandonment, which they can face or hear about. Tamara Neal is a former 911 operator and an award-winning author. A Fish Name Fred is delightfully illustrated by Lovyaa Garg. The colours which are bright underline the story’s messages. The dedication is also extremely moving.

A Fish Name Fred by Tamara Neal is a very appealing children’s book which is perfectly adapted to young readers. The author uses words they will understand and which will make them laugh. Thus she makes sure that children will listen to her and the main messages of her book as well as be amused. As a literature teacher, I also appreciate the alliteration, assonance, internal rhymes… in short the stylistic devices which make this piece such a delight to listen to as well as to read. To top it all, the main characters are a lovely grandma and grandpa, a pretty speaking fish, as well as numerous grandchildren who are bound to be loved by kids.

Such a story allows all of us to share about abandonment, about helping each other, about being responsible for the pets we have, who depend on us. However, the story is always entertaining, fun, engaging, and there is a moral is to be read between the lines. That is why I highly and wholeheartedly recommend this remarkable book which will amaze children and adults alike!