Let’s Go Swimming with Mr. Sillypants

Mr. Sillypants is going to learn how to swim tomorrow. He’s excited! It’s about time.

But he starts to get nervous. “I hope I don’t step on a fish,” he worries. “What if all the other people in the class are better than I am?” he wonders as he opens the fridge to make his “perfect sandwich,” a double-decker creation complete with peanut butter, tuna, and pickles. By the time he goes to bed, Mr. Sillypants is not sure swimming lessons are such a good idea after all.

When Mr. Sillypants falls asleep, he dreams that he’s wandering through a desert, then down a long road, when suddenly he plummets into a big pond. “I can’t swim!” he yells. Soon, though, his worries about swimming are far from his mind: He morphs into a fish, flees from enormous pickle monsters, and eventually turns into a shark, giving him the strength he needs to fight back.

The next morning, Mr. Sillypants wakes with a smile. Maybe his swimming lessons are going to be okay after all.

Told with warm humor and illustrated with stunning watercolors, M. K. Brown has crafted a hilarious adventure out of an everyday fear. This silly-looking man can teach us all how ordinary it is to be scared—and how wonderful it can be when we finally face our fears.

mk brown