Don’t Trust Fish didn’t just make a splash in 2025, it blew most funny books out of the water. I have a very wet copy of It Started with a P to prove it. Kidding, of course. It obviously would have dried by now.
The reason I mention It Started With a P is because it shares a release date with Don’t Trust Fish and a lot of the book birthday bookstagram publicity featured both books side by side. So, when I was curating the line-up for this year’s Kidlit Haha Week, I knew I needed to send Neil an email and find out how he did it. After all, we have a right to know.
Thanks for joining us for Kidlit Haha Week, Neil! Can you share a brief journey of how Don’t Trust Fish came to be from first draft to publication?
To quote Stan Lee: “I’ve told this story so many times that for all I know it’s true”.
We were holidaying with some friends in the Irish countryside during Covid and we realised that none of the kids had had a birthday party for two years because of the pandemic. We decided that we would throw the kids a party and make each child a present. I had to come up with a present for my friend’s child and because I lack any practical skills whatsoever, I ended up writing a story about how fish are annoying and make no sense.
The kids really loved it and I sent it to my agent (who had never represented kids’ lit before) on a whim and we ended up with a two book deal with Penguin. Which was nice.
Don’t Trust Fish is delightfully absurd. While revising, did you need to pare back or up the absurdity at any point? Were any spreads cut because they were too absurd or not absurd enough?
It was less a question of being too absurd or not absurd enough and more working out a way to escalate the absurdity that didn’t feel jarring. Figuring out what was more or less absurd and having it all in the right order.
The very first draft (the one I did for that birthday party) ended with a warning about fish acquiring nuclear weapons which felt a little too dark for a kid’s book. We changed it to fish acquiring giant robot battle aquariums which is more absurd and so less scary. Cuts were mostly just for space. There was a page about the moray eel that I was sorry to see go.
Don’t Trust Fish begins as an animal guide book before taking its hilarious turn. Can you tell us a bit about the balance between the fake animal guide book and the narrator’s opinion of fish?
It starts absolutely stone faced through the mammal and reptile sections and then becomes a little silly when we get to birds (Anything with feathers is a bird. Birds are dead easy). I think you need that little hint of silliness to prime the audience before things go completely off the rails.
Was the narrator always a disgruntled crab? Or did you have to go back in later drafts and add him to earlier points in the story?
No, actually! That was a suggestion by one of the publishers we sent the first draft and a very good one too. It changes the entire meaning of the book, and very much for the better I feel.
Lastly, What comedic media (TV, books, radio) influenced the humor in Don’t Trust Fish?
Weirdly, I think the most blatant influence is a very dark song by Tom Waits called What’s He Building about a man going insane wondering what his neighbour’s up to. There’s a line (“we have a right to know”) that’s quoted word for word in Fish.
Jon Klassen’s Have You Seen My Hat was also a huge influence. To this day it’s still my favourite children’s pitcture book.
Comment to Win!
Kidlit HaHa Week is giving away one copy of Don’t Trust Fish (US ONLY)
To enter, comment below with the media (books, TV shows, movies) that shape your humor by April 7, 2026, 12pm ET.
Neil Sharpson is an Irish author and playwright, who has written for theatre since his teens. He transitioned to writing novels in 2017, adapting his own play The Caspian Sea into When the Sparrow Falls. A huge fan of animation, Neil writes the comedic review blog Unshaved Mouse, focusing on animated film and comic book movies. He is a graduate of the Abbey Theatre’s New Playwright’s Programme, and was shortlisted for the Maguire International Playwrighting Award. Don’t Trust Fish is his debut picture book. Neil lives in Dublin with his wife and their two children.
So glad to see this interview! Don’t Trust Fish is definitely one of my favourite picture books, and I loved learning about how it came together.
(Again, no need to enter me in the draw as I’m in Canada [and already have the book]. Just wanted to comment!)
Neil, thank you for this book. It made my kids (okay…me) laugh and laugh.
I am a sucker for deadpan humor, so the book, Mr. S” by Monica Arnaldo, comes to mind. I also love Chez Bob by Bob Shea and My Pet Feet by Josh Funk.
Congratulations on both your successful books, Neil and Brittany! Mysteries and sitcoms tie for my favorite genre. As far as favorites: Everybody Loves Raymond, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, The Golden Girls, I Love Lucy . . . Yes, I’m older, Lol.
Obsessed with this book is an understatement! Thank you for sharing how parts of this book came together!
The T.V. show Friends has a huge influence on my humor. Have watched it on repeat since middle school and still fall asleep to it to this day. 🙂
Great post! I love learning how ideas became books. A great challenge of creating a book for a present.
DON’T TRUST FISH is brilliant! Thank you for sharing the author’s insights. WHO WET MY PANTS? by Bob Shea is also one my favorite funny books.
I love this book so much! It’s a mentor text for a current WIP. I’m also using PIG TOWN PARTY and THE BEAR OUT THERE as mentor texts.
In addition to the books above, my writing and illustration are influenced by Bob Shea, Greg Pizzoli, The Simpsons, and the cartoons of my childhood, like SpongeBob!
Thanks for today’s post! I love so many humor influences that include books by Laurie Keller & Ross Burach, comedy delivered by Jim Gaffigan & Demetri Martin & Leanne Morgan, TV shows like The Office & Bewitched, and movies like Pitch Perfect.
This is a (maybe THE) favorite book right now in our house. It’s so clever. Thank you for stopping by and giving us insight into how this book was created! It gives me hope for my utterly absurd stories!
I think my humor was molded by watching Saturday morning cartoons and Disney shows. As I grew up, though, I feel like I lost my humor and became “mature.” After getting married and had kids I found so much joy in trying to make them laugh. But I think a lot of my absurd humor still comes from the old classics I used to watch. They were so over the top.
Both great books! Thanks for the post.
What a great interview! I loved comic books growing up and Saturday morning cartoons. Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Disney comics, and Archie.
Thanks for the great interview, Brittany and Neil! Don’t Trust Fish is a favorite and makes me laugh every time I read it. I also love Don’t Eat Bees by Dev Petty and Mike Boldt (maybe I just like books that tell me what NOT to do?). I love witty protagonists with dry humor and a little bit of sass, like Emma M. Lion in The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. And right now my favorite TV shows combine humor with tons of heart, like Schitt’s Creek, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking.
Awesome interview!
Anything from Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson series influence’s my humor. Regarding media, Bluey is a household favorite guaranteed to make us laugh.
I have so many favorite funny picture books, including STEGOTHESAURUS (Bridget Heos/T.L. McBeth), I DID SEE A MAMMOTH! (Alex Willmore), SHAWN LOVES SHARKS (Curtis Manley/Tracy Subisak), WE ARE DEFINITELY HUMAN (X. Fang) and, of course, CREEPY CARROTS (Aaron Reynolds/Peter Brown). I don’t see an obvious pattern there — the creators’ humor styles are all different and all wonderful.
I LOVE this book (who doesn’t ?!). I bought it for my nephew for his birthday and had elaborate plans to steal it back. But alas, he also loved it too much so I let him keep it! 😆
Currently, I’m writing “grumpy” so I’m drawing inspiration from favs like Oscar the grouch, the grinch, Scrooge, and the Bergens from trolls of course!
Great interview! Love when an story starts with the kid audience! I still adore Gordon Korman’s humor – loved I WANT TO GO HOME as a kid and love it now. For PBs, Ryan Higgin’s Mother Bruce & Penelope Rex books come to mind.
This is truly one of the funniest books I’ve read. Well-done, Neil!
This was so fun to read! I love hearing the backstory to books. I feel like whatever I am currently reading shapes my humor! Currently reading Super Villains in Training!
Same! Kailei and Estrela did such a good job.
Beyond hysterical – kids are voting for this everywhere!
Thanks for sharing the backstory of Don’t Trust Fish.
I loved Winnie-the-Pooh as a child, so that has probably been greatest influence. As an adult…all the Madgascar movies, pretty much anything by Ryan T. Higgins, pretty much anything by Ame Dyckman, CHEZ BOB by Bob Shea (see what he did there? Ha!), a lot of stuff with Steve Carrell in it (Evan Almighty, Despicable Me) to name a few.
Fascinating interview! Several things struck me and I won’t mention them all, but you talked about reordering some of the spreads to make sure the absurdity followed the proper order (tension) which is something I’ve been working on in one of my manuscripts that is not a humorous one. I’ve gotten feedback that the story could be told in any order and that’s not a good thing so I’ve created a different story arc. I guess I’m only saying, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Also, I love that you said you “need a hint of silliness to prime the audience” to get ready for things to go off the rails. This is super important and doesn’t always happen. I like the warning! I like funny that’s got heart woven throughout like Schitt’s Creek and a lot of Pixar.
Jon Klassen has played a large part in kids books can be funny and yet still be dark. 90s cartoons have played a big part too. It’s really hard to highlight a couple sense it really becomes a melting pot from life in general.
NEIL: I just read DON’T TRUST FISH! TOOOO HILLLLAAARRRIIIIOOOOUUUSSSS!!! One of my sisters is a HUGE fish FAN, so I will DEFINITELY be gifting her this warning—-er, book! :] I LOVE that it started as a gift to a friend’s child, and is now a GIFT to ALL children—and adults, OF COURSE! My inspirations are MANY, ranging from 1980s-1990s cartoons (especially on Saturday mornings! ALWAYS something to look forward to!). But also the old classics, like the old “Looney Tunes” and ‘The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends”—which TRULY NEVER get old. And DON’T forget “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” and “Jacob Two Two”! For emotion, ALWAYS Pixar and Disney. As to books, there are SO MANY authors/illustrators I ADORE and learn SO MUCH from: Dan Santat, Aaron Reynolds, Mac Barnett, Amy Dyckman . . . I COULD KEEP LISTING ALL DAY!!! THANK GOODNESS there are SO MANY AMAZING humorous picture books out there. The world NEEDS them—now more than ever! THANK YOU, Neil, for adding your own humor to the mix!
OMG this book had me laughing so much this past year! I nominated it for our primary school’s mock Caldecott and it came in as one of the top 5 books. I read it to 2 classes and they LOVED IT. Thanks for this post!
Thank you Neil & Brittany for a great interview. I loved reading DON’T TRUST FISH! It is hilarious! I laughed out loud at the absolute absurdity – it is brilliant! There is a lot of humor that has influenced me. The Carol Burnett Show, Roadrunner & Wile. E. Coyote, Young Frankenstein (or anything by Mel Brooks), Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Parrotfish Has a Superpower by Jill Esbaum, The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed, Probably a Narwhal by Shelley Moore Thomas and two of my favorite oldies, Purple, Green & Yellow and Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert Munsch.
Love the backstory! Brilliant book! I get my humor from real life things that I’ve experienced that make me laugh and I dream funny stories that wake me up laughing. A few have become manuscripts! Those are always fun! I read and review a lot of picture books so I’m constantly reading funny so that definitely influences me.
I enjoyed this piece and it got me thinking. What media influences my humor. Or to put it this way what makes me laugh? Classic shows where the humor comes from straight characters like Lucy and Laura Petrie. Also recognizable characters in cartoon form ( Homer Simpson and the others)
I absolutely love Don’t Trust Fish—so clever! My humor choices: Big Bang Theory, The Office, anything by Jon Klassen.
I’m a big fan of absurdity, so of course I loved Don’t Trust Fish. That’s also why The Far Side is one of the big influences on my humor. And of course you can’t go wrong with Calvin and Hobbes for kid-relatability.
Tom Waits 🙌 I loved this bit, and Don’t Trust Fish is my favorite book I’ve read all year. What a fun backstory. I also appreciate your note about priming the audience before taking it off the rails. I would say Zach Galifianakis shows up quite a bit in my style of humor. Lots of dramatic sarcasm.
I love this book and reading the story behind it was so fun! Your humor inspires me!!!
Thank you for sharing the behind the scenes of DON’T TRUST FISH. I look forward to reading it!
I can’t wait to read this book! I love all things that are delightfully absurd! Some of my favorite funny TV shows are Friends, The Office and I love Lucy. I’m also a big fan of Schitt’s Creek. Of course I’ve watched all of these shows over and over again, and never seem to get tired of them. 😊
We love this book in my house and have taken this out multiple times from the library. Reading this interview makes me want to go check it out again. I think I’ll do that today.