Artie the Pufferfish: A book about a fish's creative journey.

This book has a very relevant message in today's society, especially for "shy" children or those who may have difficulty interacting with others. Artie "the Pufferfish" who feels he is ignored and invisible, believes that he needs to make a "big splash" to impress the other sea creatures. So he decides to make an elaborate sand design to get noticed. Ultimately he learns that he only needed to be himself to get noticed. Interestingly the male pufferfish in reality actually does make an elaborate sand design to impress a mate--the better the design, the more likely the female is to be attacted. This phenomenon mystified divers and scientists alike until fairly recently (the 1990s).

The book "Artie the Pufferfish" is not just for children. There is a shy, retiring, timid person in all of us. We keep him/her/them under wraps until it feels safe to venture out. We may try to dress to impress, practice puffery to encourage others to think highly of us, or just be ourselves! In the end, Artie discovers just that: Being himself attracts the friendship and love he so greatly desires. It is a fascinating story as well as it teaches about pufferfish behavior and “crop circles” in the sea. The illustrations are so colorful and pop-off-the-page beautiful. A wonderful addition to your library.

Sure to become a family favorite! This book creatively tells the story of a fish who thinks he needs to do something extravagant to be noticed by friends. You’ll follow him on his journey and see how he realizes that all he needs to do is just be himself. The illustrations are fun and every page is colorful and stimulating. Kids will have a great time spotting new details and vibrant sea creatures. The author does a fantastic job of making this fun for adults to read with a focus on building confidence for kids. This would make a great gift for kids to to donate to a child’s classroom.

Great story and beautiful illustrations. Artie the pufferfish figures out that being himself is all he need to make friends. I would recommend this book young readers.

This is a beautiful creative book for young children or older children learning to read. It is a sweet story which can encourage shy children to have more confidence in themselves. It also teaches a bit about a pufferfish's life cycle. The illustrations are lovely. It is affordable and I bought a few for gifts.