When Paulina’s parents take her to the pet shop for her birthday, she picks out a little gray fish to take home with her. Little do any of them know that this little gray fish is in fact Vincent the baby whale! First he lives in a fishbowl, then in the bathtub, and then in their pool. But when Paulina’s father sees Vincent spraying water out of his head, he learns the truth, so Father and Paulina have to bring Vincent home.

Although not the only parent in the book and not the focus of the story – which is mostly about Paulina learning to love and lose Vincent the whale – Father is the one who figures out the truth about Vincent and helps Paulina get him back to the sea. The Fish that Wasn’t isn’t a book solely about fathers, just one that subtly reminds us of what fathers can do. Reviewed by Book Dads ( )