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Fin Pal Tori asks Norman "How About Pets?"

Isn’t Tori’s letter and picture fintastic! Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .

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But first a finny!

Q: What did one candlefish say to the other candlefish?

Q: What did one candlefish say to the other candlefish?

A: Want to go out tonight?

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Wyatt asks Norman "How's About a New Story?"

Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .

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But first a finny!

Q: What does a parrot fish say?

Q: What does a parrot fish say?

A: Polly wants an oyster cracker!

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Fin Pal asks Norman "Do you sleep at night?"

Xujan-Mei’s underwater watercolor is fintastic! And look! He drew himself inside the diving suit!

All the cool blue makes it sort of hard to read the questions, so they are:

Do you sleep at night time?

In the world, what is your favorite color?

What do you think? Do goldfish sleep?

Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .

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But first a finny!

Q: Where do goldfish sleep at night?

A: Where do goldfish sleep at night?

Q: In riverbeds

Want to learn more cool facts about goldfish sleeping? Click over to AquariumGenius.

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Asher asks Norman "Do You Like Mario?"

Asher asks some good questions, right? What do you think? Does Norman even know who Mario is?

And what about his human? Does Norman like him or not? If you’re not sure, then click on over to the Not Norman, A Goldfish Story book page to read NOT CURTIS to find out exactly what Norman the goldfish thought about his human when they first met.

Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .

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But first a finny!

Q: How do you catch a whole school of goldfish?

Q: How do you catch a whole school of goldfish?

A: With bookworms.

Although the Baby Mouse series doesn’t star any goldfish, bookworms gobble it up! Check it out!

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Fin Pal asks Norman "Are You Famous?"

Have you read the Norman the Goldfish books, NOT NORMAN and NORMAN ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH? Have your friends read them? (They are available in your library and bookstores.)

So then, what do you think Norman will say? Is he famous?

Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .

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But first a finny!

Q: Why did the burglar try to steal Norman?

Q: Why did the burglar steal the goldfish?

A: Because Norman is 100% pure gold! Get it? Norman the 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!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Fin Pal asks Norman "Do you like scary books?"

PSSSST! Do you want to know a secret?

   Do you promise not to tell?                   

       CLOSER . . . Let me whisper in your ear . . .

Norman the Goldfish is a Scaredy Fish! Yep, that’s why, in Not Norman, when the boy hears SCRATCH SCREETCH Norman is watching.

What’s more! In Norman One Amazing Goldfish, our fishy friend gets so scaredy he is quivers and shakes with Stage Fright!

What happens next? (No way am I spoiling the ending here. Read the book to find out!)

But here’s the secret: Norman loves reading books that are scary. Especially when they are about fish. If you like picture books that are a little bit scary and a whole lot of fun, read on:

Norman’s List of Five Best Scaredy-Fish Picture Books

(On a scare level of #1-5. #5 being fish scale-raising scariest.) *

#1 Ten Scared Fish by Ros Moriarty, illustrated by Balarinji (published by Allen & Unwin Australia, 2012.)

This underwater Australian creature counting book starts out 1-2-3 with Turtles, then a Snake…until finally 10 little Fish meet a big scary SHARK! Bold, bright pictures perfect for 1–3-year-olds.

#2 Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Scot Magoon (published by Harcourt, 2006).

What’s scarier than a bully? Ugly Fish is ugly and big and mean, and he doesn’t share…with anyone!  And that means the wimpy little fish who keep showing up in his tank have got to go. But then one day someone bigger and uglier and maybe even meaner arrives . . .

#3 Barry the Fish with Fingers and the Scary Harry Monster by Sue Hendra, illustrated by Paul Linnet (published by Simon & Schuster, 2011).

As that fabulous title suggests, this is a great fun read-aloud! Barry & his fishy friends are playing hide & seek. Puffy finds a great hiding place in an old wreck, but he gets scared out of his wits when he sees a hairy monster lurking in the shadows. Luckily Barry the fish with fingers comes to the rescue! Spoiler alert: the “monster” is just a friendly seahorse in need of a haircut.

#4 Teeth, Tentacles, and Tail Fins: A Wild Ocean Pop-Up by Matthew Reinhart (published by Reinhart Studios, 2021).

Pop-Up book of underwater creatures that jump out from the page! Literally! (Imagine the Jaws shark leaping for the boat—that image!) That and 49 others including the colossal squid, the anglerfish, goblin shark, of course, with facts about the creatures. Definitely not a bedtime read, and yes, pop-ups are fragile, but so worth it (and tape-able).

#5 Creepy But Cool Fish by Julie K. Lundgren (published by Crabtree Seedling, 2021)

Non-Fiction—what’s scarier than real life? Book of photographs of fish—from baby fish called “fry” to the whale shark—the largest fish! Including facts about how fish adapt in weird ways to their environment in order to survive.

*Amazon buying links are included for your convenience only; I do not receive payment/rewards for them. Our preference is that we buy local & support local booksellers!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! . . . BOO!

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Fin Pal asks "Who's Your Best Friend?"

Those of you who read the Norman the Goldfish books know that the boy didn’t want a goldfish—not at all when they met. But then, by the end of the book, He and Norman are best fishes—which in human, is best friends.

This illustration is from NOT NORMAN, A GOLDFISH STORY (Candlewick Press). Click on the picture to view my U-Tube Read-Aloud

Here’s Norman’s list of three qualities of a best fish:

  1. Honest

  2. Good Listener

  3. Supportive

What do you think makes someone a best friend?

Ready to read Kelly’s answer? Scroll down . . .

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Another trait good friend have is being “fun” and “having fun together.” On that note, here’s one of Norman’s favorite finny:

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Artie Fish.

Artie Fish who?

Artie Fish-el Intelligence.


For more about what it takes to be a best friend, here’s a list of “10 Qualities of a Good Friend,” from newkidscenter.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!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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Fin Pal asks Norman about Friends, Tanks & Flipper

Eddie wrote that his fish Flipper was a red “betta”. Betta fish are also known as “Siamese Fighting Fish” because male betta fish will fight with each other over territory. There are about 70 kinds of betta fish. They are called “living art” because they are so beautiful. Like Norman and other goldfish, betta fish need space to swim around, clean water, and special food. Beta fish and goldfish can not live in the same bowl because they have different habits and needs.

Ready to read what Norman wrote back to Eddie?

Scroll down . . .

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But first a finny!

Q: Which is better at basketball, a goldfish or betta fish?

Q: Which is better at basketball, a goldfish or betta fish?

A: Neither, because they’re both afraid of the net!

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish- about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!


Don’t forget to order your copy of NOT NORMAN: A GOLDFISH STORY and NORMAN: ONE AMAZING GOLDFISH!!


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