Cameron

=__**Introduction - A Fish out of Water**__=

__**Context**__
__Who is the author and what other works have they created?__ Helen Palmer Geisel is the author of 'A Fish out of Water'. She was an American children's author who was married to fellow author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss. Helen grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and studied at Oxford University. Her best works include: 'Do You Know What I'm Going to Do Next Saturday?', 'I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo' and 'Why I built the Boogle House'.

__What culture and historical period was this book written in?__ 'A Fish out of Water' was written in 1961. Helen Palmer wrote this book after getting the original idea of her husband, Theodore Geisel (Dr Seuss). Dr Seuss wrote 'Gustav the Goldfish' which has a very similar storyline.

In 1961, there were many historical events that happened. Some of these include the Vietnam War, The Bay of Figs, John F. Kennedy became president and NASA landed their first human on the moon.

__**Personal**__
__Why did you choose this book and what does it mean to you?__ I choose this book because as a young child my father read this story to me one night with extra expression and dialogue. I seemed to find this story very funny to the point I was in tears of laughter due to the extra expression and dialogue. This story means a lot to me it reminds me of my childhood and dad reading me a story before bed. It was one story dad and I can both relate to and remember the specific night we read it.

__**Meaning**__
__What are the messages or meanings in the book?__ The messages in the text include following instructions and not disobeying them otherwise there may consequences and you do not always know what. As the boy disobeys Mr. Carp, it leads him to move Otto into several different vases and a bathtub until the house fills up with water. Another meaning displayed demonstrated in the text include learning from past experience and to not always be inquisitive.

__What are the visual and language features and how do they work to create meaning?__ The visual features that work to create meaning in the text include the imagery of 'Otto' been fed too much and the result of feeding 'Otto' too much. Otto grows and grows until he can just fit into a pool. The language features that create meaning is Mr. Carp saying '...or something may happen! You never know what." This enables the reader to think ahead of what might happen if the Otto if fed too much. As the text is short, concise and rhymes it grabs the reader's attention and interest to create meaning to the story. It also grabs the reader's attention because the story is written in first person.