The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish audiobook

This offbeat story is subversively funny. I really enjoyed it. The newspaper reading dad and the little sister provided a lot of amusement, and the premise was really funny. The illustrations are unique and absolutely brilliant. I docked half a star because of a “fat joke” I could have done without, but otherwise thought this was a hoot. This is a book that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, especially children and adults who remember what it’s like to be a child. I appreciated that Neil Gaiman explains where he got the idea for this story in the Afterword. I read a library copy so the accompanying included CD was missing, unfortunately.

Super quirky, cute, delightful, and short! So very Neil Gaimanesque, which means it’s wonderful. Of course I recommend this book!!

This is a very crazy read…kind of like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but simpler and madder in a this-is-from-a-child’s-perspective kind of way. The title says it all actually, when a boy seeks for something to trade for his friend Nathan’s two goldfish. Nathan rejects everything that the boy offers until the latter sets his eyes upon his dad. Nathan agrees, and the fun begins.At first I’m not sure if I like this or not, because it’s absurd—and that’s saying something because I’m all for the oddball stuff. I’m no stranger to Gaiman’s works, even the other books he penned for children (Coraline and The Graveyard Book). I think this is his first work where he actually explores the natural weirdness of a kid’s thoughts. I don’t know how he does this, but it’s like he wormed his way into a kid’s brain and sat there, jotting down all the ideas that float past him until he builds up a whole story. If I were a child and I were to read this, I bet I’d really enjoy it. But what I really liked about it is that it may slightly strike a chord with anyone who’s been a part of a typical family—you know, if you experienced petty sibling fights and noticed how your parents are sometimes oblivious to the *universe* haha. It’s all weird and cute.Once again, Dave McKean wows me with his artwork. He’s simply amazing. I loved how the fonts (or are the writings actually hand-written?) are done in a kid’s chicken scrawl of penmanship. It adds to the adorableness.

The young boy-narrator of this amusing picture-book from author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Dave McKean, who have also collaborated on such titles as Coraline and The Wolves in the Walls , relates how he came to swap his newspaper-reading father for his friend Nathan's two goldfish. His younger sister, not unnaturally, predicts trouble, and sure enough, when the boy's mother comes home, he is made to take the goldfish back. Unfortunately, Nathan has since traded the father on, and boy and sister must set out on an ever-lengthening journey to retrieve him, tracing him through multiple swaps to multiple young people...Apparently Gaiman made his children's book debut with The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, which put me strongly in mind of that folktale type in which the hero must make a series of exchanges, in order to obtain the desired object in the end. Classic Swedish author Elsa Beskow explored this idea (in a far, far sweeter way than here!) in her Pelle's New Suit . Despite the absurd premise, or perhaps because of it, I really enjoyed the story here, which, if you can suspend your disbelief, is an amusing tale indeed. McKean's artwork has his trademark creepy appeal, with a collage/mixed-media style that somehow works well with the story. The text here is quite extensive for a picture-book, so I would say that this one would work better for older, middle-grade readers. Recommended (of course!) to Neil Gaiman fans, and to anyone looking for more mature picture-books with a quirky, offbeat sense of humor.

Neil Gaiman'ın garip fikirlerini çok seviyorum. Tamam yani 20 dakikada bitmiş olabilir, küçük bir kitap olabilir ama onu okumaya karşı olan özlemimi giderdi. Seviyoruz seni Gaiman.

"The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish" is a funny yet sarcastic little book from the creative mind of Neil Gaiman. It is about how a young boy sells his dad for two goldfish and when his mother finds out about what he has done, she orders him to go back and retrieve his father back.Neil Gaiman has done a great job with making this story humorous and entertaining at the same time as the boy may seem a bit sadistic in selling his father and even tying up his sister at one point, but he has a good sense of humor as he does not realize the severity of this situation. Dave McKean's illustrations are scratchy and childish, especially of the image of the older brother looking larger than his sister (even though technically, he is older than his younger sister). I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves sly humor and is a fan of all Neil Gaiman's books.

I wouldn't have thought that another book, even by the same author/illustrator team, could be as wacky and unique and different and interesting as The Wolves in the Walls, but Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean have proved me wrong! This book is just as wacky and unique and different and interesting - if not more so on all counts! AND this one was written quite a few years before The Wolves in the Walls. I was very partial to the goldfish, and missed them when they were no longer part of the story. My favorite illustration shows the fish in their bowl in the foreground while we look at the mother in the background THROUGH the fishbowl.