Review by Booklist Review
Life at the bottom of the ocean is dark, lonely, and boring for Blobfish, and so he decides, after some deliberation, to throw a party (his other option is to become a hero, since heroes always get what they want). He shouts his invitation into the ocean, and in true Telephone-game fashion, it is repeatedly misheard. A party ensues, but not in the ocean, so Blobfish isn't included. Coincidentally, candy-stealing space aliens invade, only to abort their mission because of a misinterpretation caused by Blobfish's invitation. Blobfish becomes an instant hero and gets everything he could ever want, including a party and a lifetime supply of candy. Lighthearted, inventive, hilarious, and stuffed with many characters, this begs to be read aloud and acted out. The madcap quality is replicated in the richly colored cartoon illustrations, which also carefully show how Blobfish's message mutates and how it is traced back to him. There's not much substance, but when you have an ugly fish, a rocking party, aliens, candy, and underwear, who cares?--Enos, Randall Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this fairly bonkers picture book, a lonely pink blobfish's verbal invitation to an underwater bash ("Deep-sea party! Bring a treat to share!") gets mangled as it spreads. "But the mermaids heard... 'Cheap, free party! Sling on a sheet to wear!' " writes Paul (10 Little Ninjas). "And the shorebirds heard... 'Cheep-peep party! Sing and tweet with flair!' " Soon, sheep are dressing up for tea parties, farmers are making a musical ruckus, and children are flinging their underwear skyward. Debut illustrator Caton captures the chaos in energetic cartoon illustrations whose vivid hues are just right for the story's anything-can-happen atmosphere. Just when it seems like peak ridiculousness has been reached, aliens show up, ready to steal the world's candy, only to be thwarted by all that airborne underwear. Cue an epic celebration with Blobfish at the center. Not every misheard line makes total sense ("And the farmers heard... 'Keep up the party! Ring a beat to blare!' "), but "making sense" isn't exactly this book's modus operandi. Most readers will be too caught up in the silliness to care. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Pity poor Blobfish, a bottom-dweller who goes without light, friends, and, forsooth, delicious treats. Time for a "DEEP-SEA PARTY!"Blobfish is aptly named: he's got a beezer like a potato, a red-lipsticked frown, a sickly pink pallor. Blobfish has the blues. But our protagonist has pluck. He shouts out that he's throwing a "DEEP-SEA PARTY! BRING A TREAT TO SHARE!" The sound waves make it to the mermaids, who hear "Cheap, free party! Sling on a sheet to wear." Yes, it's a game of Telephone, and this telephone is broken. The dancers hear: "Be really arty! Swing your feet in the air!" The kids outside hear: "Be a smarty! Fling your UNDERWEAR!" Yeah, well, OKunderwearbut that underwear just happens to foil the attack by candy-seeking extraterrestrials in a flying saucer. Then everyone retraces the Telephone call until they find Blobfish, still down in the friendless, treatless darkbut nevermore. Caton keeps the spirited artwork in concatenation with the crazy pleasure of Paul's chain of transformations. The participants are an entirely natural mix of black, brown, white, boy, girl, and lots of animals of indeterminate gender and ethnicity but great variety. The whole package feels nicely wrapped, the wrapping doesn't try to get fancy, and the package isn't too big or small. Pleasingly proportional. Nicely crafted comedyand the Blobfish gets his wish. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
