Suitabook
The fish that couldn’t swim
Sarah Gaylard
CC BY 4.0Credits & Licence
Originally published by Book Dash. Writer: Sarah Gaylard. Illustrator: Thulisizwe Mamba. Designer: Gisela Strydom. Editor: Ingrid Nye.
Cover resized and converted to WebP; artwork unchanged. Suitabook’s AI guidance is a separate assessment.
Original Book on Book Dash: The fish that couldn’t swim (opens in a new tab)- Reading
- Pause at the pictures to notice how the characters feel, then invite the child to retell how the fish teaches the boy and what happens the next day.
- Themes
- Learning and persistence: The boy wants to swim, learns a breathing action from the fish, and later swims with an adult supporting him. The story presents learning as possible through practice and help, while showing the boy's progress rather than a sudden effortless change.
- Helping one another: The boy tries to help the fish, and the fish later teaches him how to blow bubbles. Both characters contribute to helping the other; the story presents this exchange positively through their shared learning and enjoyment.
- Worth knowing
- The boy looks sad about not being able to swim, and the fish is first shown out of water. These moments are brief and resolved within the story.