No pouting here

Grand Ledge author’s best-selling children’s book adapted into an animated movie

For children’s book author Deborah Diesen, “The Pout-Pout Fish” is the gift that keeps on giving.

Not only was it a New York Times best-seller, but it was also named one of Time magazine’s top 10 children’s books of 2008 and was selected for the Michigan Reads! literacy program. In 2019, it was adapted into a musical that debuted at the New Victory Theater in Manhattan, New York.

Last weekend, an animated movie of the same name hit theaters, grossing around $1.5 million domestically. A who’s who of celebrities lent their voices to the film, including Emmy winner Nick Offerman (“The Last of Us”), Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award winner Nina Oyama (“Utopia”), Emmy nominee Amy Sedaris (“BoJack Horseman”), Grammy nominee and “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks, SAG Award winner Miranda Otto (“The Lord of the Rings”) and AACTA nominee Remy Hii (“Spider-Man: Far from Home”).

“Having ‘The Pout-Pout Fish’ book turn into a movie is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m very excited!” Diesen, of Grand Ledge, said. “It also all feels more than a little surreal. But seeing the movie with my family and friends will make it all real. I’m really looking forward to that. And not to give away the plot of the movie, but I love a happy ending!”

The story chronicles an unlikely duo: Mr. Fish (Offerman), a pouty recluse, and Pip (Oyama), a high-energy leafy seadragon. When catastrophe strikes, they must embark on a daunting undersea quest in search of a mythical, wish-granting fish to save their homes.

“Nick Offerman captures Mr. Fish perfectly! He’s the right voice not just for Mr. Fish’s glum, gloomy moments, but also for his growth and change throughout the film,” Diesen said.

“The Pout-Pout Fish” was inspired by a real-life pout all the way back in 2002, according to Diesen. Her eldest of two children was having a bit of a pouty day.

“I made a silly, pouty face at them to try to amuse them. It worked: They smiled, then made a silly, pouty face back at me,” Diesen recalled. “We got to pouting back and forth, and I said, ‘We look like fish. Like pout-pout fish!’ As soon as I said that, it triggered a story idea. I jotted down a couple of lines on a scrap of paper and worked on the story in the days and weeks to come.”

After some revisions, Diesen began submitting “The Pout-Pout Fish” to publishers. In 2004, she received a call from an editor at Farrar, Straus, & Giroux Books for Young Readers. She signed a contract, and Dan Hanna, who lives in California and has a background in animation, was brought on as illustrator. It was not only Diesen’s first book, but also Hanna’s.

The finished product hit the shelves on March 18, 2008.

“Because we were both first timers, the expectation was that it would probably take a while for the book to find its audience. But the book did better than expected in the months after its release, hitting The New York Times’ best-sellers list in September, and it had some additional recognition, like being on the Time magazine list,” Diesen said. “It was all very unexpected, but it created some momentum. Because of the book doing well, our editor asked about a sequel, which Dan and I enthusiastically said yes to! ‘The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark’ came out in 2010.”

From there, the series continued to grow, focusing on social and emotional learning. Over the years, Mr. Fish has faced his fear of the dark and his anxiety over going to school. He’s learned how to stand up to bullies and how to care for the environment. He’s developed bedtime routines, learned resilience skills for traveling, honed his gift-giving skills and figured out how to cope with angry feelings.

To date, Diesen has penned 34 children’s books. Her next, “The Worry-Worry Whale and the Halloween Scaries,” releases July 7.

There are 10 full-length “Pout-Pout Fish” picture books, plus eight mini-adventures and six easy-reader books. Diesen has also written two “Worry-Worry Whale” picture books, a spin-off from the “Pout-Pout Fish” series, and eight other children’s books, including one non-fiction picture book called “Equality’s Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America.”

“It’s been an amazing experience to see the series expand and evolve over the past 18 years,” Diesen said. “I’m honored to have hopefully played some small role in kids’ learning to feel more comfortable with their emotional landscape and capacities.”

The youngest of three, Diesen was born and raised in Midland. She earned a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary social science from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Michigan.

“When I was a kid, my parents read a lot to us, so I loved books and reading from the get-go,” Diesen recalled. “When I was in third grade, I started to have an interest in creative writing. The first piece of creative writing I remember doing was a rhyming poem about a butterfly. My parents, teachers and school librarians all encouraged my interest in writing, and that encouragement has always stuck with me.”

It wasn’t until she had children of her own that she considered writing children’s books.

“When my kids were little, we went to the library every week and came home with a big stack of books to read together. I enjoyed the experience as much as they did!” she said. “We read many of the books over and over, an immersive experience that taught me about story structure, word flow and meter. Eventually, that immersion ignited my interest in writing stories for kids — at first just for my own kids, and eventually for a wider audience.”

Diesen attributed the success of “The Pout-Pout Fish” series to luck, timing and Hanna’s artwork.

“I think the Pout-Pout Fish is a relatable character, for kids and grown-ups alike,” she said. “He’s doing his best, and he’s figuring things out as he goes. He learns a lot from his experiences and his friends. That’s a journey that resonates for many of us. We all learn and grow through curiosity and community.

“Every year, thousands of wonderful children’s books are published, but only a few seem to catch a wave,” she continued. “Visuals play a big role because they’re so integral to a children’s book. Dan Hanna’s art — in particular, the cover of the first book — reeled readers in. Kids, parents, librarians, educators and booksellers picked up the book and gave it a chance. That’s the kind of attention every book deserves, but it doesn’t always happen in the crowded field of children’s literature.”

Diesen said she was largely hands-off in the making of the “Pout-Pout Fish” movie.

“Picture book writing and scriptwriting are two very different skills, so I wasn’t involved in the movie adaptation,” she said. “But the scriptwriters did share some drafts of the script with Dan and me and the Macmillan team, and we were able to provide some feedback.”

According to Diesen, the movie is not an exact retelling of the book.

“The plot of the movie and most of the characters will be brand new to those familiar with the books,” she said. “But the movie creators have incorporated all the major themes of the book series into the movie, including outlook, friendship and community. I think the movie can be a great conversation starter on those topics.”