Adults laughed with this book!! Y'all that is a win.

Is it earth shattering? No.
Is it well written? Not particularly

But is the tongue in cheek humor fun? Yes
Does it have pizazz? Yes ( )

Five fish friends love their new fish tank except for cleaning day and the snail that lives with them. After the tank is clean some new fishy friends join them. But UH-OH one of them gets stuck in the castle. The snail saves the day and rescues the one in trouble. Beautiful bold cartoon illustrations add to the story line. ( )

Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike were five goldfish who met at the pet store, were purchased by the same little girl, and lived together in a fabulous fish-tank. They loved everything about their new life, except for cleaning day. When a clown fish and angel fish joined their ranks, the piscine companions were more then happy to welcome the newcomers, although they ignored the tank's snail resident. But when Lenny became stuck in the fairy-tale castle the little girl added to the tank, the spurned snail proved very useful indeed...

Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike is the second picture-book that Newbery medalist Cynthia Rylant has released this year (2017), following upon the earlier Life, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. It's hard to credit that it came from the same pen as that other book, whose narrative was simple but immensely powerful. I found the text here somewhat stilted and silly, as if it were trying too hard, with its sound words and frequent "fabs!", to entertain. Tastes vary, so other readers and listeners might find it amusing. The story itself is sweet, and Mike Austin's artwork colorful, with a palette that put me in mind of Brigitte Barrager's work. Recommended to Rylant fans, and to anyone looking for new children's stories about social inclusion. ( )