Customer Reviews

Fish is Fish

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4 star:		(4)
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An email friend used the term "self consensus" to describe the process by which we start with a known person- ourselves- and move in small steps away from that to construct our image of another person we know via email. This book is a good illustration of that idea.

The story is about a minnow and a tadpole. They look alike, so they must be alike, right? The frog wakes up to having grown legs and the fish is astounded- this cannot be! They are both fish! Time goes on and the fish grows into a larger fish and the tadpole into a frog. Finally the frog is able to leave the pond, but eventually he returns to tell his old friend about the world. The fish pictures the birds as colorful fish with wings, the cow as a hilarious furry fish with horns and udders and the people as fish in clothing with hair. Of course the fish wants to see these amazing things so he jumps out, only to discover that he really needs to be in his cool, watery element to survive.

The illustrations are fairly simple colored pencil drawings- at least until we get to the creatures outside the pond. My children found the "birds" interesting, but the cow and the humans had them in stitches. They found those critters to be some of the funniest things they can imagine- and my 8 yo was able to understand and articulate that we base our assumptions on what we already know and understand. A pretty good lesson for kids to learn, IMO, as well as a sweet story of friendship between two very different creatures.

FISH IS FISH is a delightful book. It's fun for children, and a pleasure for adults to read out loud. The illustrations are beautiful. Two young "fish" are friends. One fish stays a fish; the other turns out to be a tadpole. The real fish refuses to believe that his friend is changing. How like real life! After tadpole goes up on land, he actually has more to add to their friendship - great stories about what he has seen on earth! When fish jumps onto land to explore, he almost dies. Tadpole saves him. In the end, both fish and tadpole are happy with their own unique worlds. Fish tells tadpole: "You were right ... Fish is fish." This story is so simply and wonderfully symbolic of how friends can remain friends, even when they change as they grow up.

The book's message--sometimes what is best for you is right before your eyes. This book teaches basic information about frogs and fish. It has beautiful colors which captivate the children's imagination and interest. Thoughtfully and creatively written, one of my favorite Leo Lionni books. This is a book which captivates the interest of chldren of all ages. My pre-school age children love this book, as does the elementary age children in my classroom.

Fish Is Fish (Lionni, 1970) describes a fish who is keenly interested in learning about what happens on land, but the fish cannot explore land because it can only breathe in water. It befriends a tadpole who grows into a frog and eventually goes out onto the land. The frog returns to the pond a few weeks later and reports on what he has seen. The frog describes all kinds of things like birds, cows, and people. The book shows pictures of the fish's representations of each of these descriptions: each is a fish-like form that is slightly adapted to accommodate the frog's descriptions--people are imagined to be fish who walk on their tailfins, birds are fish with wings, cows are fish with udders. This tale illustrates both the creative opportunities and dangers inherent in the fact that people construct new knowledge based on their current knowledge.

This fanciful and colorful book is about a fish and tadpole who become friends while living in the same pond. Tadpole soon grows legs and leaves the pond. Fish is lonely without him and tries to follow. Disaster! The gently presented lessons in this book stir me still. The words are simple, but the meaning, real and multi-faceted, is accessible to all ages.

This is a great book if you have small children. They love it because it's fun to read out loud and it isn't so long that you get out of breath. This is a must have that I enjoy reading over and over again and my little ones never get tired of it.

Leo Lionni has a wonderful simplistic style of art that many children relate to. I teach Kindergarten and love to use this book for a prediction activity. We talk about what the fish's perspective must be like, and using "mind movies" to visualize what he must be imagining as the frog describes his adventure. After I read the first recollection of the frog, I have the children imagine what the fish is imagining. I give them time to see what the fish is seeing, then I reveal what he actually saw. We do a quick check- in to see similarities and differences, then I distribute paper to do a "drawn prediction" for each of the following descriptions. My class loves it. Try it at home or in class. Have fun!

Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni is a great book for little kids with great imaginations. In this book a tadpole and a fish are friends. There are many things to learn from this book. I believe that this book should be read by little kids.

The pictures in this book are creative. The pictures are made from imagination. But, it might be better if he used the right colors. The book would really stand out to little kids. Little kids and beginners would love this book for its pictures. It has easy words for beginners to practice reading with.

Their friendship will make you happy even if you're really angry since nothing is better than friendship. For instance, frog left for a long time and eventually returned and fish was not mad. When he came back, he told amazing stories. The story wouldn't be complete without their friendship.

After a day with joy and frustration fish learns, "Frogs are frogs," and "Fish are fish." Fish risked his life to see what frog had described to him. Frog proved to be a hero and a friend. Fish learned a valuable lesson. Frog and fish remained friends.

Fish is Fish is something I definitely recommend. Young kids who are mad at a friend should totally read it. With all the happy events it makes it to a book that's great for friends. I liked how the author put the events in the way he did. Beginning readers should really read this book.

I loved this book as a child, and now my daughter loves it, too. A really good lesson; we don't always get what we want in life, and sometimes that's for the best. Beautiful illustrations.

A baby fish and a tadpole in a pond become friends. When the tadpole grows into a frog, he leaves the water to explore the land above. Upon hearing from his friend about this wondrous world, the fish decides to go see it. But he leaves the water at his peril, only to be rescued just in time by the frog.

This is not a moralistic story, but it lays some groundwork for an understanding of what constitutes truth. This especially relates to the postmodern idea that reality (especially spiritual reality) is whatever we perceive it to be. In this story the fish imagines birds, cows, humans, and other animals as fish-shaped beings. His perception does not alter the true form of birds, cows, humans and other animals -- and chortling children will understand this as the fish's funny conceptions are juxtaposed with reality.

The point is driven home not only with humor but also with dramatic tension. Although the fish perceives the world above as a place where he can thrive, he is proven wrong when he attempts to breathe air. After returning to his own environment, he admits that "fish is fish" and accepts his place in the pond. So the story dramatizes the truth that there are certain laws inherent in the created order, and that to ignore them is dangerous.