Story Description – It was a classic fairy tale situation. There is a young woman, the heroine, and the man she loved (one or both of them might have been a prince or princess, but I don’t remember). An evil wizard/sorcerer hides the heart of the man in a fish. To save her lover, the heroine must pick out the fish that has his heart from a river full of fish. She does so successfully and the fish is cut open to reveal the heart.
Physical Book Description – It was a children’s picture book with loose whimsical illustrations featuring elongated characters. Blues and reds were heavily incorporated colors. I remember it being in a vertical format, taller than it was wide. There was a full-spread illustration of dozens of fish along the bottom of the spread and the heroine above. One of the fish has the man’s heart in it.
Background – I remember checking this book out of my elementary school library in first or second grade in the early 2000s so it was probably published in the 90s, maybe even 80s. I’ve tried searching for the book on and off for the last 5 years or so with no luck.