Hilarious, absurd, and Kafkaesque, this is the tale of Louis, a meat-hating Brooklyn butcher who loves fish so much he turns into a salmon. The text and vivid illustrations work nicely together. Adults will love it as much as their kids. The moral of the story: Be yourself! ( )

This book is very weird and fun. Louis loves fish, but is obligated to work in the family business - a butcher shop. The book seems like a reference to Kafka's "Metamorphosis". One major difference - Louis' change is a happy one.

"One day last spring," begins this delightfully surreal picture-book from Arthur Yorinks and Richard Egielski - the author/illustrator team also responsible for the Caldecott Medal-winning Hey, Al - "Louis, a butcher, turned into a fish. Silvery scales. Big lips. A tail. A salmon." This Kafkaesque opening is quickly followed by a flashback to Louis' youth, offering an explanation of how a man who hated meat (but loved fish) became a butcher (answer: family tradition). Louis' growing unhappiness begins to manifest itself in both his waking and sleeping life, as he begins to imagine that his customers are fish, and dreams that assorted meat products are chasing him down and beating him. It's only a matter of time before he wakes up, ala the opening of the book, in piscine form...

OK, this book just cracked me up! A man wakes up as a fish! He has a dream in which steak, sausages, pork chops and meatballs chase him down, and beat him with bats! He rides the subway (as a fish!), and ends up living happily in a fishbowl! It's an interpretive bonanza here folks - one that should appeal to everyone from the vegetarian/vegan crew to the psychoanalytic crowd (when is a steak just a steak?). Haha! I can't even write this review with a straight face (or refrain from abusing exclamation points)! The text may be surreal, but it also works, as a story, and the artwork is just fabulous! Best of all, the two work seamlessly together! If you appreciate the bizarre, have an offbeat sense of humor, or just like unusual picture-books, track down a copy of Louis the Fish - it's a real blast! ( )