Fin Pal asks Norman "What's your Favorite Animal?"
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
A brand new year! Celebrating with 2-for-2022 with a letter and question from Finpals! Letter (with super cute drawing) first:
Finpals who are just learning to write,can tell a teacher or adult their questions for Norman T. Goldfish. (The T stand for “The” because “The” is Norman’s middle name.) Like this one:
Do you have a favorite animal? If so, why? Do you think Norman the Goldfish has a favorite animal? He sure does! Actually he has 2. Can you guess what they might be? Here’s a hint:
T also stands for “tell” and “tricks” and “tail”—as in Norman’s tail is finny and long. One of Norman’s favorite animals doesn’t live in water or have a tail. The other one only lives in water (but salt water, not fresh water). And it has a long tail—so long it can wrap it around coral or grass and hold tight during rough seas.
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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The Longhorn Cowfish (Lactoria cornuta) inhabits the reefs of the Indo-Pacific. They are not good swimmers—but they do have horns—lust like a longhorn cow. Want to learn more about cowfish? Click here!
Wonder if cowfish say “Moooo” instead of “glug-glug”?
Did you know seahorses move by using a small fin on their back that flutters up to 35 times per second: 1-2-3…35. For more “Amazing Facts About Seahorses” click over to OneKindPlant.org.
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
WINNER of the "Goodbye 2021 WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the “Goodbye 2021” Quarterly Giveaway is . . . Fanfare please!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media. The good news is you made our fishy hearts flutter with joy. The better news is, there weren’t as many entries as there could have been—did you forget you could enter more than one time each quarter? —so all of you who did enter have a 1 in 77 chance of winning. Talk about great odds!
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random random drawing. To that end, first we asked this guy to pick a winner. Now! Without further ado—Here’s Jack
And the winner is: Blanca17
Lucky Blanca17 will win dinner with a chicken or her choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
Calling All Finpals!
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Fin Pal to Norman: Do You Like Pizza?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Do you like pizza? What about orange? Some people put orange cheese on their pizza. Some people put fruit on their pizza. But I’ve never seen anyone put orange fruit on their pizza…have you? Some humans put fish on their pizza, too. Norman would never put a human on his pizza…or would he?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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Just as we humans can get sick from eating things that are not good for us, goldfish can too. So unless your pizza is made of seaweed topped with freeze-dried brine shrimp, don’t fee it to your goldfish!
Here’s more from the Fish Vet on What and How to Feed your Goldfish.
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Fin Pal to Norman: My Goldfish Died...What Do I Do Now?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Some Finpals write letters, some draw pictures, some e-mail. They always ask good questions, but, like this one from Tametha, they aren’t always easy to answer:
Do you have a pet? Have you ever had a pet that died? What advice do you have for Tametha?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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Goldfish, like all pets, do require special care. Even still, they do die. That is the sad part of keeping pets.
Sometimes goldfish die because they are old.
Some die because they are sick.
Some time we feed them too much, or too little.
If you add water to their fishbowl that is colder or warmer or not treated to take chemicals out, they can die too.
Sometimes goldfish die for no reason we know..
Before you get another goldfish, or any pet, the best way to be sure you treat it well is to read about how to care for it. Find books about how to care for pets, like goldfish, in the library and on websites. Here’s a How to Care for Goldfish guide from Aquariumkids.org
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Fin Pals ask Norman the Goldfish: How Do You Dance?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
In Norman One Amazing Goldfish, Norman’s human enters our fishy friend in Pet-O-Rama but Norman gets stage fright and is too scared to move. (Does that ever happen to you?) Finally, with help from his human, Norman does dance, doesn’t he? And not just any dance, either. Take a look:
Norman flip-flop wiggle-waggle dances like crazy, doesn’t he? How do you think he does it?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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Wouldn’t this be a great time to read (or reread) NORMAN ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH again? Click on the cover below for ordering info—and a fintastic read aloud!
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Fin Pals ask Norman: How Old Are You?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
There are three ways to tell how old a goldfish is:
Color: most goldfish start out brown. Their color changes to gold, orange, black, or other colors when they are older.
Fins: goldfish fins grow longer and more pointed as they age.
Size: Goldfish grow to about 5 inches long in their first 2-3 years. After that they grow about an inch a year. But, if they are in a small fishbowl, they won’t grow as fast.
Now that you know all that, how old do you think Norman is? How old do you think his human is?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
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20 goldfish years? How many is that? Let’s see:
Neeness says “One year in a goldfish’s life is equal to five human years, which means one-fifth of a fish year equals one human year.”
So, if Norman is 20 goldfish year’s old, how old is he in human years? 20 divided by 5 equals 4. Norman is about 4 human years old.
For more about goldfish click over to this article on cuteness.com
Now, Norman has a question for you: Verywellfamily.com says Humans grow about 4 inches a year when they are about 2 to 3 years old. And then, when they are teenagers they grow about 4 inches a year again, for a few years. After that they stop growing taller.
So, how old do you think Norman’s human is?
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!
Fin Pals ask Norman: What Do You Want to Trade?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Say Kids: In the story, NOT NORMAN, the first thing the main character tries to do is trade Norman for a pup.
If you haven’t read the book in a bit, here’s the read-aloud:
But what you might not know is when they first met, Norman wanted to trade his human too? Yep. What do you think our finny friend Norman would want to trade “Curtis” (his human) for?
Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .
