Gaiman, N., & McKean,
D. (1997). The day I swapped my dad for 2 goldfish. Clarkston, GA:
White Wolf Pub.
Reading Level: 500L
Interest Level: Grades 1 – 3
The artwork is very similar to “The Wolves in the Walls” – a
simplified, sepia-ish color scheme of red, brown, and black; crude, childlike
drawings; and collage style artwork that integrates photographs,
newsprint/paper materials, and drawn elements. The effect is very irreverent,
chaotic, and dark, especially in coffee-stained corners and areas purposefully
over-inked. Unlike “The Wolves in the Walls,” however, the story is actually
silly and not scary at all. If you are interested in using Gaiman in the lower
grades without inciting a mass nightmare epidemic, this is probably a better
choice based on content.
As far as form, this book takes its cue from the traditional
literature cumulative style, similar to “One Fine Day.” This is a more interesting
iteration: the concept is fun and silly, the main character writes in first
person, drawing in the reader (and the hand drawn text and illustrations increase
the feeling of being inside a child’s story).
“Some people have great ideas maybe once or twice in their
life, and then they discover electricity or fire or outer space or something. I
mean, the kind of brilliant ideas that change the whole world. Some people
never have them at all. I get them two or three times a week.”
Good for unit on sibling relationships or transactions. Also good for this writing tip in the Author's Note:
“I knew what the next sentence was, so I wrote it. And the
one after that. Eventually I’d finished a whole book.”
