As previously stated, I am not always a remake fan. And while The Fintastic Fishsitter (My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish) is not a remake per say, it is a retelling of the story. First it is the timeless Tweety vs. Sylvester. Cat vs Dog. It is the “good vs evil” story. Only told as a Vampire Cat and Zombie Goldfish. Different, but done before.
Also, Mo O’Hara’s Zombie Goldfish is in a picture book format this time (part of the remake). Not having read O’Hara’s My big Fat Zombie Goldfish novel stories, I am going to assume that the humor and goofiness are like the novels. In other words, frankly, young boy-humor. While no real bodily functions or gross outs, there is that typical antics you find in a “boy book.” But O’Hara also tries to do is to entice girls to read as well, with a somewhat stereotypical little sister, who has some spunk as she becomes a fish-sitter (later a cat-sitter, too). I know of a young gal (now early teens) who was a huge Zombie Fish fan. Therefore, I am assuming they fit any off-beat-humor tastes.
And while a novel reader could do this book with little difficulty, it is more for the child who wants to read the novels but is not ready for full novels (even with illustrations). Therefore, this could work as a read aloud or silent read for the slightly more advanced reader (or the younger novel reader).
Marek Jagucki’s illustrations are contemporary and bright. They are polished and frankly just darn cute. Even if one character is a zombie goldfish. They also help show the jokes (little sister, Sammi, takes fish-sitting literal), when Fang, the vampire cat, wants a zombie goldfish snack and is caught, the “kitty hypno-eyes” are perfectly displayed.
The illustrations also recall a few other stories/artworks: with some Pete the Cat and Dav Pilkey as well. (You might find other comparisons). The age is most likely 5 to 7, but any age could find something fin… I mean fun… in it.
