SuitabookGoldfish on vacation
Sally Lloyd-Jones
- Reading
- Pause over the illustrations to follow how the fountain and its surroundings change. If the fish’s return prompts concern, talk together about how the children feel as they say goodbye and later look for their fish.
- Themes
- A neighbourhood gathering: The fountain’s summer use brings the neighbourhood children together to visit their fish. The gathering is presented as an enjoyable part of the children’s summer, with visits and shared activity.
- Past and present: Grandpa tells the children that horses once drank from the fountain, linking its earlier use with the summer goldfish gathering. The story uses Grandpa’s recollections to give the fountain a history within the children’s present-day adventure.
- Worth knowing
- The children say goodbye to their fish and later have to find them again; they wonder whether they have retrieved the same ones. This is handled playfully, but may invite questions from a child concerned about separation from a pet.