Customer Reviews

Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this story. ... I think it teaches lots of lessons. For example, it teaches how it is wrong to make snap judgements about others. It also teaches how to work out differences, and meet with people that are different.

For the third time in as many books, Marcus Pfister passes along the lesson "Be nice to others." That was the moral of the story in The Rainbow Fish; it was also the moral in Rainbow Fish to the Rescue. Why Mr. Pfister felt it necessary to bludgeon the reader over the head with it yet again in Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale is truly beyond me. It wouldn't really bother me - after all, there's nothing wrong with reminding children as well as adults that it's good to be nice - except the writing itself in Big Blue Whale is so poor. As in Rainbow Fish to the Rescue, Big Blue Whale feels rushed and slipshod, as if the author threw together any old story in order to make a deadline. Even a simple, predictable and cliched story can still be well-written and enjoyable; unfortunately, Big Blue Whale is all of the former and neither of the latter. Save your money and stick to the original Rainbow Fish.

Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale is the third in the Rainbow Fish series. In the first book, Rainbow Fish has to learn to share his glittering scales in order to be accepted. In the second book, Rainbow Fish to the Rescue, Rainbow Fish learns to help those in need, even if they are different. Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale builds on the theme of Rainbow Fish to the Rescue . . . except by exploring differences on a larger scale. The book features the same beautiful illustrations and glittering highlights that made the first two books so much fun to look at.

Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale is based on a misunderstanding. The fish and the whale are both attracted by the krill (small shrimp-like creatures) that live near the reef. The whale also enjoys seeing the sparkling highlights on the fish. One of the fish develops a fear of the whale. When the whale comes close one day, the jagged fin fish says, "Look out! . . . The wicked whale is after us!"

The whale's feelings are hurt, and the whale becomes angry. The whale chases the fish into a cavern and waves its tail so violently that the krill are dispersed. Soon, whale and fish are hungry.

Rainbow fish overcomes his fear. "We must make peace with the whale." "Please let's talk." "This fight was all a big mistake. It drove off the krill and now we're all hungry."

The whale makes peace. "Come now! said the whale." "Let's find new hunting grounds." "And before long, none of them could remember what the terrible fight had been about."

The story is a good one to read to both older and younger siblings. For the older ones, it shows the importance of not being threatening. For the younger ones, the lesson is to assume that size does not mean menace . . . even when it feels intimidating. For both children, the book explores that words can hurt, and have unpleasant consequences. The benefits of being considerate and sharing are also displayed. For me, this book contained all of the best elements of the first two books while reminding the reader of them by the visual cues of shared sparkles on all but the striped fish.

Children who are afraid of anger will probably want to avoid this book, although most should be fine with it by the recommended ages of 5 and higher. I suspect that most 4 year olds would love it.

Where else do large and small have to cooperate? You might want to share those examples with your child in order to create a more complementary view of how the world can work.

Seek ways to build strengths from differences!

I recently order two copies of this book from two different vendors. I thought I was purchasing the original book that was an 8 x 10 or a 10 x 12 inch size book- On both occasions I received the small baby size hard book instead. I guess I should have been more clear or the description should be more clear. Be careful if you order this book- you may not get what you thought you would get. A large original book- pre-baby sized. Lesson is...ask first. My bad.

Our kids love this book. They were truly engrossed in the beautiful colors and gentle flow of the story. The sparkly fish on each page are just lovely to look at; the book captured their attention because the character of the whale was able to teach a lesson both obvious and hidden. The obvious lesson was that you can't judge a book by it's cover, since the fish were intimidated and frightened by the whale's constant staring. Little did they realize that the whale was in awe of their colorful, peaceful beauty, and this is why he gazed at them each day. When I asked the kids to figure out if there was another message in the story, they thought long and hard and eventually came up with the perfect answer: kindness brings friends together! Read this charming tale and you will see what they mean.

Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale (Rainbow Fish)
Purchased this book for our Oceans Alive museum teacher at her request. I haven't received any feedback from her about the book. The book was in good condition when received. Purchased several other books about the same subject at that time. All were in good condition. Everything I've purchased from Amazon I've been pleased with. There's a great deal of selections to choose from and the price is always good. Since our museum is a non-profit organization I'm always looking to save money.
Thank you,
Joyce

I enjoyed reading this book to my elementary students. This book teaches kids not to judge others based on appearance as well as the cons of making assumptions about others (before actually getting to know them). I think the story itself could have been a little bit longer ... it seems to be too quick of a read for even primary students. Overall, a great book!

I'm so glad to see that people aren't in an outrage about this part of the series. I, personally, was a huge fan of the first Rainbow fish book, and my little sister loves "Rainbow Fish to the rescue", but the third enstallment just wasn't as good. I founf myself getting extremely bored as I read it. Basically the fish are all afraid of this big whale thats been watching them from afar. So the usual jerk "The fish with the jagged fins", says that he thinks that whale wants to eat them. So the whale gets angry, and unessacairly scares the fish buy chasing thme around. Why shouldn't they be scared, some whales do eat fish. I just thought it was a bad lesson. But overall, it was ok.

THis is a good book on not judging people by the first impression. PEople thses days have to learn not to judge epople by looks. Just becasue someone looks different doesn't mean they are different. IF someone is bigger than you, it doesn't make them a bully. A lot of people make stereotype's and think people are mean because of their size. Yet they have to that it whats on the inside that counts.

We all judge people at one time or another, its natural. We just have to learn to except people for who they are. I like this book because it shows how people treat others in modern life. This book shows how to except others. I also like it because judging is not a good think, it the good qualities we need to look for i a person, not the bad ones.

I truly enjoyed the story of Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale by Marcus Pfister. It shares a valuable lesson once again for children not to judge by looks alone. Still I find that something must have got lost in the translation, such as the part in the beginning of the one striped fish without a glittering silver scale. Beautifully illustrated as always. Marcus this one's another winner!