This book falls squarely into the "What were they thinking?" category. All it does is perpetuate the idea that animals are only here to be killed for humans to eat, and even worse, that food is what they aspire to be. The story was one of the most macabre, disturbing, and gruesome ones I've read, and not because of the subject matter. (Even as a vegan, I found the facts interesting. The process of making sardines is explained with the proper terminology, which might appeal to kids who want to kn...

I'm all for being with honest with children about our food supply and where meat comes from; however, this book is not honest. Just as it brings home the stark reality of what happens to fish caught in nets, it obfuscates about the reality of death: Arlene is resting on the conveyor belt at the canning plant; the narrator speculates that she is possibly nervous as she is assessed one last time before being sealed into her tin. I can understand the motivation to write a book that doesn't pull pun...

This is a book about a fish who wants to die and become a sardine. The fish is starved for two days. The fish dies. The book references how comfortable the fish would be on the conveyor belt (after it is dead). Then the fish is packed in a tin box like a sardine. What a strange tale for a children's book!

2.5, frankly because I don't know what to think of it one way or another.I like the art a lot, but not the prose (it's very repetitive in a way that I don't think is fully successful), and I find the story itself to be kind of disturbingly cheerful considering the content that's in it. If it's supposed to be teaching kids about eating animals as either a positive or negative thing, it doesn't really succeed at either due to the tone, which I found frankly confusing. Reading trade reviews of the

Well, this was certainly a book I read. Part of me found the humor in it, the dark humor that comes from this controversial book about a suicidal fish (and maybe not even suicidal? She’s okay with dying, but that’s not necessarily her end goal…). The other part of me, the ~vegan~ part of me is crying out and telling me that this is fishery propaganda. After all, if the fish all want to become human-packaged and -consumed food, then who are we to deny them?After I’d finished, I’d just sat down in...

Now I finally know how sardines are made! Did you know that before sardines are pulled out of water, they swim around in the net for three days so their stomach would be empty? It's called thronging. You are welcome :)Anyways, I agree that the subject is quite unusual (essentially, Arlene is happy to be canned), but I appreciate the irony of it. Also, I liked the bright colors in this book. What I did not like that much was occasionally repetitive language, e.g. "Then she was smoked, delicately....

While the process of learning about how sardine's are packed weren't exactly pleasant, I did find this book to be great for mathematics in the field of measurement and capacity. After reading the book, children can get their own different sized "Sardine cans" and place fake sardines (or sardine replicas) into the box to fill it's CAPACITY. Children can then count how many sardines it took to fill their capacity, write it on their box and close it. When everyone is finished, they can trade boxes

Critical pedagogy is a teaching approach that helps students to question and challenge what they are being taught. Critical pedagogy is a form of education in which students are encouraged to form meaning and their own understanding of what they learn. Critical pedagogy challenges students to critically think. It is important to have children think critically for themselves and form their own ideas. Children’s literature can help students find a deeper meaning and form opinions and ideas through...

If there's a reason you don't want your kids to eat sardines, fer gawd's sake - read 'em this book!

I only put this book on my children's book bookshelf based on the most general of definitions. This cheery, little picture book follows a little fish named Arlene's transition into a sardine. I DO NOT recommend reading this book to children, especially the young and impressionable. This opinion would carry over to any book in which the main character dies less than halfway through and is then processed into food.

Note* some difficult words like fjord, brisling, hermetically. Best for an older child (2nd or 3rd grd)This could really be a non fiction book, as it details the (tragic) life of a sardine. I would NOT recommend this for any kind of story-time or you will have the children and/or parents in tears. The fish dies and is processed as food. I found it a bit startling and unpleasant. There is nothing wrong with reading this to a child who wonders where his/her fish comes from, or if the specific chil...

I’m late to the Arlene conversation, but I have to join the chorus of huh?'s this book inspired. Raschka’s typically lovely art is great, but the story is bizarre to the point of meaningless. Are we to celebrate her fate with pseudo-poetic, Lear-esque nonsense, such as: “Then she was smoked, delicately. She was delicately smoked. Delicately smoked was she.” Lear was funny and creative. This isn’t.

Perhaps the strangest book I've ever read in my life... It's about a sardine who WANTS to be caught and eaten by people. This story tracks the life of Arlene and her journey to a sardine can. I was immensely disturbed when I was a child... I have to say though, it left quite the impression. Once you read it, the story sticks with you. If you like thinking about sardines who find it an honor to sacrifice themselves so you can eat, this story is for you. My question is: who in the world would writ...

I think this book is the final nail in the coffin of me trying to understand Chris Raschka's appeal.

*Spoiler Alert!* Arlene is a little fish who, on page 12 DIES and becomes a sardine packed in a little tin! This is not a HAPPY book! I think there is a good reason why it was on the culled-books shelf at the library. It's not a terrible book; it's more like a fictional piece of non-fiction, a how-to guide for making sardines. Fine, but it's strange that Arlene would start out her life WANTING to be a sardine! And it's all packaged as a children's book! It was hilarious. I read it aloud to 11-ye...

Zero StarsThis is the worst children's book I have ever read and I feel that it is inappropriate to even classify this as a children's book. Why? Because it plays off as more of a thoughtless joke than it does an appealing work for kids that kids will even get. The age group that is beginning to mock children's literature may find this to be cool, but I bet that most of them would not even waste their time. When you are attempting to appeal to an audience, you need to appeal to an audience. Rasc...

I scrolled through the thoughts of other for a little insight into how this book could be used and why some like it.It could be used in a lesson on mathematics, as pointed out by someone. With each student getting her own sardine tin...It could be used to describe the process of canning fish, I suppose.But this book is just odd to me. While the colors of the artwork are pretty and the art itself is lively, drawing the eye around the page, the story leaves a lot to be desired.It seems the author

So bad it wasn't funny. Kids are not the audience. I will go out on a limb and say this book was published just to see if the publishers would be crazy enough to print it.

The depressing, repetitive story of a young terrorist being groomed to die for the greater good. Manipulated by the promise of a better, continued life after. Sorry Arlene.

Arlene Sardine is an altogether shocking yet amusing, clever yet realistic narrative of the true life of a sardine. It begins with an introduction of a fish named Arlene whose dream is to become a sardine. She does all she can to reach this dream...including death. Just when you fall in love with the charm of Arlene through Raschka's use of clever language, Arlene dies halfway through the story. "I knew a little fish who wanted to be a sardine. Her name was Arlene. Arlene wanted to be a sardine....