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  • Published: 8 April 2025
  • ISBN: 9781761351082
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $19.99

Don't Trust Fish




DON'T TRUST FISH! by debut picture book author Neil Sharpson and illustrated by National Book Award-winning creator Dan Santat, an absurdly laugh-out-loud picture book about the villainy of fish.

Why, dear reader, must you NEVER EVER trust fish?

1) They spend all their time in the water where we can’t see them.
2) Some are as big as a bus—that is not okay.
3) We don't know what they're teaching in their "schools."
4) They are likely plotting our doom.

This nature-guide-gone-wrong is a hilarious, off-the-rails exploration of the seemingly innocent animals that live in the water.

  • Published: 8 April 2025
  • ISBN: 9781761351082
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $19.99

About the authors

Neil Sharpson

Neil Sharpson lives in Dublin with his wife and their two children. Having written for theater since his teens, Neil transitioned to writing novels in 2017, adapting his play The Caspian Sea into When The Sparrow Falls. A huge fan of animation, Neil writes Unshaved Mouse, a comedic review blog mostly focusing on animated film and comic book movies.

Dan Santat

Dan Santat is a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator. His picture book, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, won the 2015 Caldecott Medal for distinguished illustration. He also wrote The Guild of Geniuses and created the Disney Channel animated series The Replacements. He lives in Southern California with his wife, two children and various pets.

Praise for Don't Trust Fish

What do we REALLY know about fish? They look all innocent…but are they? This hilarious new picture book by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat is a warning to us all. Is it safe to have a fish in your home? You might reconsider. Are they plotting to take over the world? It’s a very real possibility! Kids will laugh out loud at Santat’s wonderful illustrations and Sharpson’s dry humour. I can’t wait to read this one aloud. One thing is for sure, you’ll never look at fish the same way again.

The Kids Bookshop

You might be fooled by the scientific illustrations on the opening pages into thinking this book is a serious educational text, and while this cheeky, funny and outright irreverent little book is educational, it’s not in the ways you’d expect! Author Neil Sharpson begins by defining a mammal, a reptile and a bird, with Dan Santat’s crisp illustrations to match. But things go off the rails when Sharpson tries to define a fish. What even is a fish? They live in fresh and salt water, they have gills and lungs, they eat plants, invertebrates and even other fish! You’ll soon learn what fish are: untrustworthy!

Tamuz Ellazam, Readings

With hilarious cartoon-style illustrations by Caldecott medallist Santat, Don’t Trust Fish explains all the real (and invented) reasons why fish are indefinable, inconsistent and untrustworthy creatures. A delight for children aged 4+ (and their adults too), but not advisable for ichthyologists and/or children with goldfish.

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Dont Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson & Dan Santat

DON'T TRUST FISH! by debut picture book author Neil Sharpson and illustrated by National Book Award-winning creator Dan Santat, an absurdly laugh-out-loud picture book about the villainy of fish. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/dont-trust-fish-9781761351082