ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PICTURE BOOKS
Cho, Lian

Don't Eat Eustace

48 pp. | HarperCollins | October, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780063321847 $19.99
(2) K-3 Bear’s life as a lighthouse keeper is marked by solitude and routine; each day their chores culminate in eating breakfast (alone) and heading to the shore for a little fishing. This morning’s catch of the day, however, is a bit of a surprise, and one that lands more than a little color into Bear’s otherwise drab world. Tucked inside a rainbow-colored patchwork sail is an equally multihued fish, who immediately introduces himself as Eustace and begs not to be eaten. Bear’s deadpan response (“Of course not. I would never”) seems contradicted by their actions, which include gently placing Eustace in a pot, consulting a recipe for fish stew, and adding some lovely vegetables. But Eustace is as inventive as he is charming, and when a series of animals in need of help swings by, Eustace convinces Bear to work together to re-purpose the sail—and make friends along the way. Cho’s colored-pencil and gouache art reflects the vibrancy that Eustace’s arrival brings to Bear’s world and gives the animal characters plenty of humor and personality; the goofy grin on formerly dour Bear’s face after they don their own patchwork garment is worth the price of admission. This lighthearted story combines elements of big-fish tale with contemporary tongue-in-cheek sensibility
Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

RELATED 

PICTURE BOOKS

Born Ready
by Patterson, Jodie
PICTURE BOOKS

The House of Grass and Sky
by Ray, Mary Lyn
PICTURE BOOKS

The Dog's Gardener
by Storms, Patricia
PICTURE BOOKS

And I Paint It
by Kephart, Beth
PICTURE BOOKS

Poem in My Pocket
by Tougas, Chris
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?