"Goldfish Ghost was born on the surface of the water in a bowl on the dresser in a boy's room." After staring at the ceiling of the "pleasant and familiar" room for a while, the upside-down goldfish drifts out the window to begin his quiet, solemn afterlife. He's learning that it's lonely being a ghost. He glides past raucous seagulls circling fishing boats ("Skree Skree") and a busy seaside town with shoppers and ice cream eaters and--look closely!--a boy buying a new goldfish from the pet store. Following "a rattly jeep full of loud music," he comes to a beach crowded with people--including a Victorian-era ghost couple strolling unseen among present-day castle-building, ball-throwing, metal-detecting beachgoers. In all these places, though, he can't find a friend. "It can be hard to find the company you are looking for." Returning eventually to his bowl, he finds that another goldfish--a live one--has taken his place. "She seemed nice enough, but she was not good company, and the moon called Goldfish Ghost back out the window." It's not until our solitary hero encounters another friendless soul--the ghost of a lighthouse keeper--that he finds the company he's been longing for.
Although the natural audience for Goldfish Ghost might be young readers who have recently lost loved ones, it should in no way be limited to this readership. It can be hard for anyone to find the company they are looking for, after all, and there's nothing like feeling "at home" with a friend.
Lemony Snicket is perhaps best known for his entertainingly dark Series of Unfortunate Events, so this gentle, meditative tale of a goldfish's hereafter may come as a surprise to readers expecting villains, orphans and tongue-in-cheek snark. Make no mistake, though; the quirkiness of the subject and its execution, so to speak, is all Snicket.
The true magic, though, comes with the harmonizing of author and illustrator's talents; Lemony Snicket and Lisa Brown (The Airport Book) previously collaborated on The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming. Brown's India-ink-and-watercolor illustrations are reminiscent of 1960s and '70s picture books. It could be the muted blues and grays and golds, or the childlike pictures of people and animals, but the artwork will feel sweetly familiar to readers of a certain age. Details like the fish-centric books in the boy's room (One Fish, Two Fish, Swimmy, Amos and Boris) and the lively town packed with multicultural and multi-shaped and -sized pedestrians, invite lingering perusal. One of the most ethereal and affecting moments in recent picture books comes at the conclusion, when the lighthouse keeper takes Goldfish Ghost "in her quiet hands and placed him where the light had once shone for sailors at sea." The image of the upside-down ghostly white fish contentedly suspended in the center of the massive lighthouse lantern is unique and unforgettable. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor
Shelf Talker: Lemony Snicket and Lisa Brown team up in an unusual and moving picture book about what happens to a goldfish after he dies.