The boy who swam with the piranhas
The boy who was swimming with the Piranhas (English title. The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas ) is a children's book of the British writer David Almond with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers. The original edition was published in 2012 by Walker Books Ltd. The German first edition was translated by Alexandra Ernst and was published in 2014 by Ravensburger Buchverlag Otto Meier GmbH.
The book covers the topics of confidence , adventure and friendship .
content
Stanley Potts doesn't have an easy life. After the death of his parents, he is taken in by his aunt Annie and his uncle Ernie. But Ernie loses his job in the shipyard and turns the Potts home into a fish factory where Stanley has to work from morning to night.
After a violent argument with his uncle, Stanley leaves home and joins the fairground owner Dostoevsky and his sullen daughter Nitascha. Meanwhile, Clarence P. Klapp and his colleagues from the “Director's Office for the Supreme Order Employment of Fish and Fishy Things” - DOOF for short - kept an eye on the Potts family and their house. The officials have made it their business to free the city and the surrounding area from all “fishy matters”.
Stanley makes his way to the fair in the next town with Dostoevsky and Nitascha, where they set up their booth. He soon becomes friends with the other showmen and circus people. All the people Stanley meets at the fair notice within a few minutes what a good heart Stanley has. Above all Dostoevsky takes him into his heart and Nitascha also seems to slowly open up. Still, Stanley misses his aunt and uncle. But then the notorious Pancho Pirelli appears at the fair - the man who swims in a pool with hungry, carnivorous piranhas . Pirelli sees Stanley as his student and possible successor and lets him in on all of his secrets and tactics.
Both the DOOF officials and Annie and Ernie are meanwhile on their way to the fair and Stanley. This is where Stanley's first big performance takes place in the evening, where everyone comes together: Annie and Ernie, Dostoevsky and Nitascha, the DOOF officials, Pancho and all of his new friends from the fair. Stanley proves he can swim with the dangerous piranhas and his family and friends are proud of him. He forgives his uncle and is happy to be reunited with them.