Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Fishtastic!
Tess Weaver · 2021
77/100
👍 Worth It
Etta the costume-designing trout who cannot do magic is a genuinely lovely protagonist for the youngest readers — a picture-book hero whose contribution is real even when the flashy gift is absent. Jennifer Black Reinhardt's illustrations bring vivid color to the Iowa River setting, and the pacing is reportedly tight for a picture book. The geographic specificity is charming rather than limiting for most readers.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety98
substance72
craft80
originality76
accuracy82
hype82
age-fit90
human-eye78
Penny’s verdict77
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