Something wondrous and strange!
It was Agatha's turn -
and her fish was unclaimed!
Could it be a mistake?
A strange sort of error?
They'd left out the ANGLER,
that glorious terror!"
You may know someone like Agatha May. She's new to the class and she doesn't fit the mold of an attentive and perfect student. Rather, she likes to chew gum in class (a no-no); her notebook is messy and so are her face and hands; and she even eats her stinky cod casserole ahead of the lunch break. She is her teacher's foil, and she is made aware of it constantly.
The class assignment is to choose a sea-dweller, and first choice is given to the student with the most merit points. Poor Agatha May! Teary and worried because she has no such points, she is sure that another classmate will choose the one creature she is most wanting to study. As luck would have it, the anglerfish is not chosen by anyone else. The girls have the weekend to prepare for their presentation.
Agatha May is ready on Monday! With cool confidence she shares all that she has learned. In doing so, she has listeners on the edge of their seats, and full of questions she is well-versed in answering for them.
"This ambushing fish
of the deep-deep-sea zone
has no fins and no skin -
it barely has bones!
It swallows prey whole!
It has teeth sharp as pins!
And perhaps most astonishing:
It can't even swim!"
Agatha May is a researcher; she has done her homework and is an assured and thorough presenter. Her teacher is duly impressed and quick to share how she feels about Agatha May's fine work.
"Your desk is a mess,
and your cubby a fright,
but your mind is a treasure.
It pulsates with light."
This book is filled with accurate facts about anglerfish, and ends with additional details found in back matter. Readers will spend time carefully considering the fabulous watercolor artwork created by Mika Song. Her images of Agatha May with her notebook illustrations and untidy demeanor will draw readers to her for her fervent love of the anglerfish and her wish to know everything she can learn about it.
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