In the hallways of Fairmont Schools, something fishy was going on—literally. While most students were drawing friendly dolphins or sparkly starfish for the BOOKMARK contest, Julien had a secret. He had read Neil Sharpson’s Don’t Trust Fish, and he knew the truth that the rest of the world was ignoring.
Julien’s painting wasn’t just a painting; it was a warning.
He knew that while mammals are busy being warm-blooded and birds are busy flying, fish are underwater, staring with their unblinking eyes, plotting… something. His artwork captured the “off-the-rails” spirit of the book, highlighting the narrator’s hilarious (and totally biased) claims. After all, as the book asks: Why are they in “schools”? What are they learning? And why does a Whale Shark need to be the size of a bus? It’s clearly suspicious!
When the judges reached the Third Grade LIBRARY POSTER category, they didn’t just see a well-painted poster; they saw a masterpiece of comedy and “anti-fish” conspiracy. They realized that Julien, much like the grumpy crab narrator at the end of the book, had a story to tell.
By the time the “Winner” ribbon was placed on his painting, the message was clear to everyone at Fairmont: Julien is a little artist, a little scholar, and most importantly, he knows better than to trust a fish!
Julien 與「大魚陰謀」
在費爾蒙特學校的走廊裡，一場「魚」目混珠的秘密正在上演。當大多數學生都在為學校舉辦的書籤大賽畫著友好的海豚或閃亮的彩色海星時，Julien 卻守著一個秘密。他讀過尼爾·夏普森（Neil Sharpson）的《別相信魚》（Don’t Trust Fish），他知道那些被世人忽略的「真相」。
Julien 的畫作不僅僅是一幅畫，更是一個警告。
他明白，當哺乳動物正忙著維持體溫，鳥類正忙著飛翔時，魚兒們卻待在水下，用那從不眨動的眼睛盯著上方，密謀著……某些事情。他的作品捕捉到了書中那種「不按牌理出牌」的幽默精神，突出了敘述者那些搞笑（且完全帶有偏見）的主張。畢竟，就像書中問的那樣：為什麼牠們要待在「學校」（英文中魚群與學校同詞）裡？牠們到底在學什麼？還有，為什麼鯨鯊非得長得像公車一樣大？ 這顯然非常可疑！
當評審們來到三年級組時，他們看到的不再只是一張畫工精美的海報，而是一件融合了喜劇與「反魚類陰謀論」的傑作。他們意識到 Julien 就像書末那個脾氣暴躁的螃蟹敘述者一樣，有著一個精彩的故事要分享。
當「冠軍」緞帶掛在畫作上的那一刻，費爾蒙特學校的每個人都明白了：Julien 不僅是一位小藝術家、一位小學者，更重要的是，他比任何人都清楚——千萬別相信魚！