The Adventures of Oliver the Clownfish: Acting Cool

(4 customer reviews)

$18.95

Peer pressure, being yourself, and true friendship 

Oliver wants to look cool in front of his friends. He isn’t sure if he should be friends with Dolly, a dolphin who looks different. Oliver learns the true meaning of friendship, and the relative unimportance of physical appearance in choosing valued friends. This publication has been honored with a Dove Award for family friendliness. This second edition contains the popular 10 Things You Might Not Know About a Dolphin and a Parenting Sandbar giving parents tools to assist their child with peer pressure.

4 reviews for The Adventures of Oliver the Clownfish: Acting Cool

  1. Mason Canyon (verified owner)

    Teaching youngsters the importance of friendship can sometimes be a challenge when they are more concerned with being cool.



    Author Stephanie Guzman has written a charming tale that will aid parents in dealing with this matter. In the second installment in her delightful Oliver the Clownfish series, Guzman tackles the issue of acting cool.



    Oliver a clownfish, and his friend Paul, a puffer, meet their new neighbor Dolly, a dolphin. They notice Dolly’s body is covered in neon shapes, but don’t say anything. The three quickly become friends and spend the last two weeks of summer playing together.



    On the first day of school, Oliver and Paul join their friend Sally, a seahorse. When Sally makes fun of Dolly’s appearance, they agree with her hurting Dolly’s feelings. In time Oliver finally stands up for his new friend. The four realize forming new friendships is more important than acting cool.



    THE ADVENTURES OF OLIVER THE CLOWNFISH: ACTING COOL is both entertaining and educational. The beautiful glossy illustrations by TD will capture youngsters’ attention as they quickly turn the page to see what happens next.



    Guzman has created an inspiring series that helps youngsters learn how to deal with difficult situations. She uses her skills as a Reading Specialist to entertain youngsters while they learn. The series is geared toward youngsters ages 6 to 8, but all ages will enjoy it.

  2. Sam Freene (verified owner)

    Circles are cool they are round; they have no beginning and no end. Circles are part of rings, basketball hoops and even the shape of balls. That’s cool! Triangles sometimes mean that a road sign is coming up and we need to slow down or stop. Rectangles and squares are really neat. Some are the shape of windows or doors; others are the shape of boxes or even our cell phones. Each shape is different and no two are really the same. That’s what makes them unique and special. Imagine if everyone we meet looked the same, had the same color eyes, hair and face, wouldn’t that be kind of boring. Our differences are what makes each one of us special, who we are and our own person. Meet Oliver a really handsome orange and white striped clownfish who lives with his family and friends on Whale Watch Lane. Oliver is usually kind, friendly and loves to meet new fish. Paul and Sally are his two best friends that he plays and goes to school with everyday. Paul is really cute. He is beige with grayish fins and cool beige and white spiky things on his back and sides. But, the coolest thing is about to happen and you won’t believe it! A really pretty Dolphin named Dolly is coming to live in their neighborhood and she has her own style and her own look. Dolly is blue with blonde hair just like me and she is really pretty. Dolly is not your typical Dolphin she is covered in geometric shapes that look really neat. She has rectangles, squares, triangles and circles all over her making her a geometric Dolphin. She is smart, pretty and just wants to be accepted by her fellow fish.



    Paul and Oliver swim over to meet their new neighbor and immediately find out that they are going to be in the same class at Fish Tale Elementary School. Even better they have some real fund and start playing together. Imagine having fun playing ring around the starfish and many other games including catch the seashell. Sounds like fun. But, not everyone is tolerant, understanding or kind when they meet someone that they think is different. Sometimes even people or in this case fish that are you friend one minute are influenced by someone else and decide that they do not want to be your friend. Wait until you meet Sally and learn what she says that is really not very nice and I hope will not stop you from being Dolly’s friend.

    

On the first day of school you know how it is everyone says hi to everyone and asks about your summer vacation and then school begins. Well, fish are not any different but when Sally, the seahorse, who is not a clownfish like Paul or Oliver, and if she bothered to realize it might notice she is different too, meets Dolly, things begin to change. Sally says some things that are not really nice about Dolly and decides that she is not going to be her friend because of the way she looks, as she will explain on page 13 to anyone who reads her words and will listen. Unfortunately, both Oliver and Paul decided to not think for themselves but to be influenced by Sally and decided not to be Dolly’s friend any more. How sad!



    There is much more as school beings and poor Dolly feels left out and instead of thinking for himself Oliver goes along with Paul and Sally even though he really wants to still be Dolly’s friend. Dolly is sad and who can blame her as author Stephanie Guzman allows readers to hear her words and understand how sad she feels. Just look at the picture on page 16 to know how Dolly really feels and those hurtful words can make someone feel so sad and alone. But, Dolly does not give up and she goes home and prays that things will change. Oliver looks deep within him and realizes that what he did might not be so nice and listen to his thoughts along with Dolly’s on page 19. Children need to learn to be free thinkers and not be influenced or sidetracked by others when they know the right thing to do and the right way to act.



    Every one of these fish has a different appearance. Each one is a different color, has different attributes and personalities including Mr. Tang their teachers. Assigning their first project to collect shells and compare them each member of the class has to team with three others in order to complete the assignment. But, what happens when no one wants Dolly in his or her group? What happens when you have no choice and the teacher places Dolly in your group? What do you do? Oliver has to think long and hard and search within himself to find the answers? Just how this all splashes out and will they work together to collect shells you will have to find out for yourself? Will Sally and Paul realize that Dolly is a dolphin and lives in the water with them and she is special? Does it matter that she is covered in shapes? Does it matter that Paul and Oliver are clownfish and Sally is a Starfish who is quite different and looks nothing like the other three? Does being and acting cool mean that you have to hurt someone’s feelings because you think they are different and not like you? Will they complete the project and pass? Can two clownfish, one starfish and really pretty blonde and special Dolphin become friends? Read The Adventures of Oliver the Clownfish and find out for yourself.

    

Author Stephanie Guzman brings to light many important issues in this beautifully illustrated book by TD. Non-readers can understand the story just by looking at the pictures and beginning readers will love this story and hopefully root for Dolly and even want to encourage Oliver to be her friend. This reminds everyone that prejudice is wrong and agreeing with other people just to please them is not the way to go. I think a fun project for kids would be to write letters or short notes to Dolly welcoming her to Fish Tale Elementary School and telling her about the fun things that happen there. It might even be fun to write notes to Oliver, Sally and Paul telling them that they need to look past her shapes and realize that she is special and just wants to be accepted like everyone else. Let’s hope that author Stephanie Guzman has some more adventures and for our four friends and that they team up and work together next time out. Acting Cool or Making A New Friend: Which is more important? Find out what Oliver decides and maybe write about what you think too. This is a great book for young readers and maybe even adults to read to understand that the world is made up of different people of many races, colors, nationalities and creeds and wouldn’t it be great if we all got along. So, let’s give this book: FIVE DIAMONDS FILLED WITH GOLD:MY FAVORITE SHAPE

  3. LindseyPopeWrites (verified owner)

    Oliver the Clownfish faces a dilemma many kids face at school – what should you do when your friends aren’t being nice? It’s hard not to cave into peer pressure. This book helps remind kids that maybe acting “cool” isn’t more important than being nice. I would recommend it for kids in the elementary school age bracket as hopefully it will help instill this important lesson that they can then carry into middle and high school.

  4. AtticusScoutJem (verified owner)

    Great Read! Highly Recommend This Book! *Colorful and engaging sea animals who also look forward to the first day of school. *Great topic for elementary students who can struggle with making not so nice decisions, even hurting friends, to be cool! *Beautiful illustrations. *Dolly doesn’t explain why she looks the way she does, she just says she can’t help it, which opens the floor to much debate by readers. *Great book for teaching about dialogue for readers and writers.

Add a review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *