The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm is a delightful story about a girl, Ellie. Ellie lives in the Bay Area near San Fransisco. Much of the book is related to a time in her life during preschool. Her teacher, Starlily, gave all of the students a goldfish to bring home so that they could experience loss and learn about the cycle of life.

One night, Ellie’s mom came home with a strange child. Ellie just assumed that he was a student in her mom’s theater class, but the more she stays with him, the more familiar he becomes. That child turned out to be Ellie’s grandfather, Melvin. Melvin claims that he found the fountain of youth, and that he was able to become a teenager again. There is a rare species of jellyfish that Melvin found that he named the T. Melvinus the jellyfish is able to revert itself back into its child form and continue living its life. The jellyfish, however, is still in Ellie’s grandpa’s lab and they aren’t allowed to go in because Melvin doesn’t work there anymore. Ellie believes that being able to go back years in your life will be bad for the planet and will mess with the circle of life. Can they get it back without getting caught, and is being able to turn yourself back into a child actually safe for the planet?

The Fourteenth Goldfish is a wonderful book that just wants you to keep on reading. Holm has also written many comics with her brother, including the Babymouse series.