Trouble in Paradise! Tropical Terry by Jarvis

Down in Coral Reef City, it's all about the BLING!

IN CORAL REEF CITY LIVED SOME OF THE MOST DAZZLING SCHOOLS OF TROPICAL FISH IN ALL THE OCEAN!

DASHING AND FLASHING, THEY SPUN AND SWIRLED IN GREAT FLURRIES OF COLOR.

Poor little Terry is just blue--a nice color, but definitely not a standout in the blue depths of the tropical seas.

He has good friends, Cilla the Crab and Steve the Snail, and every day they play their favorite game--Hide-A-Fish. Terry is terrific at blending in with the coral. Still, he longs to hang out with the glitterati. But he is totally lacking in glimmer, glamour, and glitz.

Cilla and Steve understand Terry's longing to swim with the upper echelon of the tropics, so together they craft a fashion statement for their small blue friend. They gather glorious shells and colorful seaweeds and deck Terry out until he is a magnificent standout, totally unrecognizable.

"JUST CALL ME TROPICAL TERRY!" HE SAID.

"WOW! LOOKING GOOD! DO YOU WANT TO JOIN US?" SAID GOLDY.

And before he knows it, Terry is swimming in the most sparkling school of deep sea denizens of the deep in Coral Reef City! He's a trend setter--SWISHY SWOOSHY! Everyone notices him now!

But that's not always a good thing--especially when toothy Eddie the Eel drops in for a bite at the Reef Cafe...

... WITH ONE THING ON HIS MIND--DINNER!

Suddenly Terry realizes that perhaps it's better to be a plain-Jane little blue fish who is really good at Hide-A-Fish, in Jarvis' fishy fable, Tropical Terry. Terry sheds his faux glamour garb and returns to his modest self, in Jarvis' little story of undersea society. Jarvis's glowing underwater illustrations provide quite enough dazzle for young readers, as well as a small lesson in learning who your real friends are.