Sashimi and Ghosts of the Harvest

Santat, Dan. A Fishboy Named Sashimi
April 14, 2026 by Roaring Brook Press
ARC provided by the publisher

Strange things are happening in Barnacle Bay! When Sashimi comes to shore, grabs a hoodie, and joins Miss Wilcox's classroom, the students ask a lot of questions, but don't get a lot of answers. Joey is assigned to show Shashimi around, but since he is new himself and a target of Billy's bullying, he's reluctant to be seen with a bug eyed student who sweats a lot. This, of course, is how Sashimi, who is really a fish boy, breathes. While he's living in the school and talking to Kevin, the class goldfish, he feels like he should investigate the Beast of Barnacle Bay, since there is a huge festival surrounding the creature. He has a bad experience at a grocery store with some high octane sugar soda and is kicked out after he goes nuts; Billy is there and takes him home to meet his grandfather. Poopdeck Pete is obsessed with the Beast, and gives tours of the bay. Sashimi tells Joey the truth after an incident where Sashimi tries to flush himself down the toilet: he is a fish boy and was chased ashore by Joey's grandfather, and has been living in the school. After meeting with Ben at the local history museum, Sashimi decides to enter the contest to catch the Beast, since there's a $10,000 prize. There is all kinds of drama in the community's participation in this, but in the end, Sashimi donates one of his own scales to the museum, and is rewarded with $500. He donates this money to the school, where budget cuts have been rife, and settles into life in Barnacle Bay. Poopdeck Pete's boat tours experience a resurgence with the interest in the creature, so Joey is happy as well. More adventures, perhaps ones including the very suspiciously damp Ben, are heading to shore. 

Santat's illustrations are always a delight, and he brings Sashimi to life in an engaging way. There's even an informational diagram of how Sashimi breathes; of course, there are extra laughs since he is depicted in tighty whities! The use of the hood to hide his more defining aquatic features is inspired, since young readers these days live in hoodies, often (to my chagrin) with the hoods up. Santat must have a deep and abiding interest in the sea, since his 2022 Aquanaut also involves ocean life living on land. Sashimi is much happier and less traumatic than that graphic novel! 

Sashimi gets himself involved in many ridiculous situations, which makes this a perfect book for older readers (who pretend to be too sophisticated for jokes about Poopdeck Pete) to read to younger ones. Sashimi gets revenge on Billy in a spitball fight, he has a massive sugar buzz and subsequent crash, and we get snarky but informative inserts about what a poop deck is named that and how Sashimi is able to live on land. The illustration style is colorful and unique, and will appeal to older readers who have been raised on Santat's picture books like Are We There Yet, Beekle, and After the Fall. 

Dav Pilkey gets a shout-out in the dedication, which makes perfect sense, since readers of Captain Underpants and Dogman will be thrilled with Sashimi's odd adventures. Santat worked with Tom Angleberger on Princess Pit Stop, and must have absorbed some of Angleberger's Two-Headed Chicken Energy. I'm looking forward to the further adventures of this intrepid fish boy, and hope that he and Joey are able to calm Billy down quite a bit and can continue to support their struggling school. 

The box that the publisher sent with the ARC was delightful, and contained a helpful water bottle (so Sashimi can keep breathing), a sticker, poster, and small container of "fish flakes" that I have on good authority actually contains Swedish fish candy! 

I have a love/hate relationship with Scholastic. I love their titles. I hate that they publish the best book only in paperback. Then, sometimes, they taunt us with amazing books that never become available anywhere but book fairs. So be warned. You might only get a copy of this at a book fair, through the Scholastic book order form, or if Ms. Duga personally mails you a copy. Thanks, Lindsey. You deserve better. 

Duga, Lindsey. Ghost of the Harvest

September 2, 2025 by Scholastic Inc.

Copy graciously provided by the author

After Hailey's fourth grade sister Emma tags along to a haunted hayride, she is never the same. The explanation is that she was touched by a witch, but of course, no one believes that. The family moves to the country town of Harper's Fall on the advice of Emma's therapist, but she is still withdrawn. Hailey, who is starting 7th grade at her new school, feels terrible. She had been pulling away from her younger sister, and now doesn't know how to help her. At school, she meets Renee, Ava, and Marcy, who are generally nice, but tease Hailey a little about wanting to check on her sister at lunch. When Emma doesn't return voluntarily to class after lunch, her teacher gives Hailey a hard time, so Hailey isn't happy when she finds her sister drawing odd symbols on the playground with Thomas after school. There is an upcoming Harvest Moon festival, and Hailey's new friends tell her that children often go missing. Hailey scoffs at this, but Rachel tells her to take it seriously. The story is very dramatic; the ghost of Farmer Asrael haunts a local cornfield, and a girl in his care went missing years ago. Someone close to whoever sees his ghost is the one who goes missing. When Hailey sneaks out with her friends to investigate, she seems Emma out in the field in her pajamas, and she is sucked into the corn field. Of course, the authorities don't believe her. Her parents are subdued after their loss, but Hailey starts to investigate in earnest. With the help of Thomas, she starts to see patterns. There's a website put together by Thomas' grandfather about the missing children. Thomas tells Hailey that the school secretary's son, Caleb Claremont, was the last person to go  missing. The two interview Mrs. Claremont, and realize that all of the children were new to town. Talking to her parents, Hailey finds out that they had a brochure for the town, which motivated them to move there. After witnessing odd behavior from Renee, and finding out that she was recently adopted, Hailey is on high alert. With the help of Thomas' mother, she realizes that she must find Emma during the Harvest Festival, or lose her forever. 

Strengths: There aren't enough books that address how annoying younger siblings can be, even when their older siblings really do love them. Hailey's regret over distancing herself from her sister makes this even more heartwrenching when Emma goes missing. The small town setting is great, and the interaction with her new classmates is a great mix of activities and concerns. I don't want to ruin the twist at the end of this, but it is a great one. Pairing up with Thomas to investigate is nicely portrayed, and I adored Thomas' mother, who ends up helping to save the day. Nicely paced, and super creepy! 
Weaknesses: Mrs. Claremont can't unpack after ten years because she's so sad about losing Caleb. Sigh. I'm just never a fan of parents who are constantly grieving and can't move on. That's just not my experience, and I don't think it serves a purpose to give this example to young readers. 
What I really think: I would buy two copies of this if it were available in paperback, because readers who loved Krovatin's Killer Harvest or Arden's Small Spaces will love this one. For now, I'll wrap this paperback in clear contact paper and hope it holds on as long as possible.