Arlene Sardine by Chris Raschka

This is about a fish named Arlene who wants to be a sardine. It talks about her life and swimming around with her thousands of friends until one day she swims into a big net purse. Then, she sits in the net for a few days and is eventually lifted up to a boat and that is where she dies. However, the story doesn't end there...it continues on talking about how she is salted and smoked (delicately). From there, it moves to her being "well rested on the conveyer belt" and then being packed into a can that is closed up with no air and being cooked.

I thought this book was interesting and it was very specific and graphic about what happens to our food before we eat.it. I'm not a fan of sardines but after reading this book I would find it hard to be! I thought it was interesting how, even when talking about the not so pleasant things that happen to the fish when they are being prepared for packaging, the author didn't make it sound bad. By saying "delicately salted and smoked" and being "well rested on the conveyer belt." While I think this would be good for children who are reading this to feel more at ease with the idea of the fish being harmed, I think there was probably a hint of sarcasm as well. I think this book would be good for children because it is always important to know where the food you eat comes from. However, I think this book is a little biased and would make children feel bad for the fish, and other animals they eat, so they would feel like they shouldn't eat animals. I felt the book was promoting vegetarianism and I think it is important to show different view points. However, I think that if I had this book in a classroom I would want to find books that promote the views of people who prefer to eat meat because, as I said before, this book seem to support just one point of view.