Customer Reviews

The Rainbow Fish

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(62)

 

 

ISBN 1558580093 - It's a rare thing that I read a childrens' book knowing full well that there is an actual critical debate going on about it, but The Rainbow Fish is one of those. With that in mind, I'll begin with those parents. The message any child gets from a book that is read to them is more dependent upon you than the contents of the book. If you're going to be all freaked out by some wacky idea that this book teaches socialism, you're going to convey that to your child and you will do more harm than the book, all by itself, ever could - in that case, just pass up this book. No harm done to anyone. While I think you're crazy, I think you have the right to make that choice.

If, on the other hand, you can manage two things: to actually read the book and get the message (which isn't socialism/fascism/communism and isn't really sharing, either) and to understand that you are not 4 years old and your 4 year old doesn't think the way you do, then this book is worth picking up.

A beautiful, conceited fish lives in the deep part of the ocean. His scales sparkle and shine as he swims through the ocean - alone. The other fish attempt to befriend him, but he ignores them until one day when a small blue fish approaches him. The small blue fish tells the Rainbow Fish how beautiful his scales are, and asks for one of them. Horrified, the Rainbow Fish refuses and swims on, puzzling aloud over his loneliness. A crab directs him to an octopus, whose advice is simple: give away his scales to the other fish and he will be happy. After some thought, and a second request from the small blue fish, the Rainbow Fish takes the octopus's advice and finds friendship and happiness.

Let's face it - this book has a large number of 5-star and 1-star reviews for a reason. Here's my two cents on those reasons: One, look closely at reviews and you'll notice that many negative reviews are for the board book edition, which is truncated to suit the format. The book has already been translated from its original language (Swiss) and then it's edited to fit a smaller book - of course there is going to be missing information in that version. Two, adults are reading this book, assessing it by their own standards and forgetting that children see a very different story here. Adults see the scales as what they are in the real world: a part of the body of a living creature that doesn't talk. In this book, which isn't the real world (as evidenced by the talking fish), the scales are more comparable to clothing or jewelry - a possession, not a physical feature. Adults also seem to fail to see one glaring thing: while their eyes are on the "give away your possessions" issue, they forget the way the story starts. In the beginning, the Rainbow Fish is vain and lonely, concerned only with his scales and their beauty, certain that he should be liked for his beauty alone ("I really am beautiful. Why doesn't anybody like me?").

The idea that the message here is about sharing is easily proven false. The summary inside reads "The most beautiful fish in the entire ocean discovers the real value of personal beauty and friendship" - not a single word there about sharing. The message in this book is more about not letting your possessions possess you, about understanding that others won't like you just because you're pretty, and about recognizing that friendship isn't about someone else adoring you but about sharing something, even if all you share is play time (not necessarily possessions). For that alone, if those are messages that you're able to convey to your child, the book is worthy of the shelf space. Add in the lovely pastel illustrations (and the person saying this usually despises pastel illustrations) by Marcus Pfister with the scales that actually sparkle and you've got a winner. The worst I can say about the book is that, perhaps, something is lost in the translation by J. Alison James. Children will enjoy the story and be very happy that, in the end, the Rainbow Fish isn't alone anymore. If you like this one, be sure to catch up with the sparkly fish in Rainbow Fish Finds His Way.

- AnnaLovesBooks

I am also surprised by the number of negative reviews. I just read this book and I only got a good feeling from it. The fish is disliked CLEARLY because she is being arrogant and mean, NOT because she is beautiful. The other fish don't want to have anything to do with him ONLY because she is mean. Yes, one fish asks to have one of the scales, but the fish only start alienating the Rainbow Fish when she answers, "You want one of my special scales? Who do you think you are? Get away from me!"

The Rainbow Fish then thinks, "I am beautiful - why doesn't anyone like me?"

As she gives away her scales, it helps her to become humble. It's not like children will start giving away limbs of their body to make friends. If you want to make an analogy, what if your little girl is being arrogant about how pretty her long hair is. People start to not like her because she is so haughty. So she cuts it off. TO HUMBLE HERSELF. She's not doing it to make people like her, she's doing it to change herself so she will be more likable. Being humble is a good thing.

When i was in kindergarden I remember opening and reading this book. Not only did the beaitful colors and illustrations captivate my young eyes, but it was a book that to this day have never forgotten about. im 21 now.

With that said, as my standpoint from a six year old would have it, there are certain messages that I know i did not get from this book.

I did NOT think that in order to get friends you have to give stuff away

I did NOT think that you have to bribe people to like you

I didnt see any signs of socialism etc... uhm probably because i was little? if your 6 year old understands massive politic issues then maybe they should be reading at a higher level..?

what I got from this book.. the magic that I got.. was that attitude is more important than appearance. Simple as that. The Rainbow fish started off like any stuck up, Im-the-most-attractive-so-im-entitled-to-be-liked being. The book was about the transformation in the fishes attitude, by the time the book was finished a 6 year old would get the message that maybe beauty & friendship is deeper that outer appearance?

gosh people are so annoying, making such a simple, beauitful message into something political.

This book is very pretty. I've read it to a group of children (not my choice - a teacher asked me to do so) and to my own child, who got it out of the library, and I've certainly seen its appeal to young children. They can't sit still. They just have to reach out and touch the lovely, shiny, foil scales. (Although the look of disappointment on their faces when they find out it's just a flat surface is also obvious.)

I think getting children interested in books at a young age is crucial, so ordinarily I would love a book with this kind of appeal, even if it wasn't a book that especially appealed to me. I perfectly understand that sometimes children and adults have different tastes.

But this book, despite its prettiness, is awful. A beautiful fish, different from all the other fish because of his glittering, jewel-colored scales, has a hard time making friends, because the other fish don't like the fact that he does not look like them. In order to win friends, he gives away his scales, one by one, until all the fish in the ocean look alike. I understand that the book is supposed to be about sharing, but giving away everything you have isn't sharing, it's buying friends. That's something many young children are already prone to do, and it's not something any caring parent or teacher would want to encourage.

The book's success also bothers me because it is a blatant rip-off of a much better book - Leo Lionni's classic Tico and the Golden Wings. In Lionni's book, a bird gives away the golden feathers of its wings. But the tone of the book is very different. Lionni's bird is born without wings, unable to fly. He wishes for wings, and is granted golden ones. As he flies around the world, he sees people living lives of great hardship and he gives each person one of his golden feathers in order to help them. Each time he gives away a golden feather, a real one grows in its place. In the end, his bird friends see him with his black wings and tell him that now he's just like them. But Tico realizes that although he looks like them, he is different inside.

Unlike The Rainbow Fish, Tico and the Golden Wings teaches children to be generous AND to be themselves. It doesn't make it seem like it's impossible to be a unique individual and still get along with others.

A great children's author (who, for the sake of her privacy, shall remain nameless) once commented that "The Rainbow Fish", was the third in the triumvirate of picture book mediocrity. The first two being, of course, "Love You Forever" and "The Giving Tree". I don't feel like explaining why this statement is not only brilliant but sublime, so instead I'm going to review this seemingly innocent little picture book. Here we have a very dull book with a very poor message. In my humble opinion, it hardly deserves much notice.

Originally a Swiss picture book (who knew?), "Rainbow Fish" tells the tale of a little sparkly fellow below the sea. The Rainbow Fish glitters and glides in the ocean's depths, ignoring the calls of the other fish to come out and play. One day a little fish asks for one of his shiny scales. The Rainbow Fish is not exactly polite in his refusal, but for some reason this is the comment that causes all the other fish to make him a social pariah. The Rainbow Fish is a little upset by this and asks the advice of a wise old octopus. Unfortunately the octopus is of the opinion that Rainbow Fish should give away the very things that make him special. His shiny scales. Once he has given a scale to all the other fishes he'll look exactly like everyone else and be happy. He does and then is. The end.

I suppose if you looked at this book from a religious context it might make a little more sense. But even then the moral would still run along the lines of give-up-your-worldly-possessions-and-everybody-will-like-you. Hm. What makes this book so offensive to some readers is the simple fact that it's is preaching a kind of same = good mentality. Tis better to meld with the crowd than to hold onto that which makes you an individual and unique, it sayeth. Then there are the illustrations to contend with. In an interesting marketing technique, the shiny scales Rainbow Fish sports are small hologram-ish cut-outs that line his body. Little kids will, presumably, see the shiny things on the cover of the book and immediately grab it. But how stand the rest of the illustrations? Certainly the colors in this tale are luminous and lovely. Pfister has developed a lovely watercolor technique wherein the blended shades of the scenes work perfectly within the context of the story. Unfortunately, the actual illustrations themselves are fairly hum drum. Don't expect the breathtaking loveliness of Eric Carle's "Mister Seahorse" or even the originality of a similar seaside tale, Irene Haas's, "The Maggie B.". Characters here never change expression (except that once in a while their little fishy mouths curl either up or down as appropriate). As a gimmick, the shiny scales work well. Just don't pay much attention to anything else in this tale.

The best advice I can give regarding "The Rainbow Fish" is to recommend Leo Lionni's classic picture book, "Swimmy". Like The Rainbow Fish, Swimmy's a little guppy who's different from everyone else. But rather than, oh say, changing his scale color to blend in, Swimmy uses his unique position in society to help those around him while remaining true to himself. A powerful statement that "The Rainbow Fish" sorely lacks. I'm not saying this is the worst picture book ever written, mind you. Just a mediocre one. With all the wonderful picture books out there, why not grab the best and leave the rest? Or, if we're going to take the advice of the Rainbow Fish to heart, do what everyone else is doing and strive for mediocrity. Hey, it worked for him!

We own this book only because my wife ordered it from a book club. Had we looked at the book, we never would have bought it. My two-year old has not seen it, nor will he. He has enough good books. And this book is bad. The book is so bad, destructive, immoral, and wrong that I have trouble figuring out where to start. Well, let's start with the "moral(s)" of the book, which can be summed up as follows: (1) being special is evil, and worthy of hatred; (2) if you do not give your possessions away to others on their demand and pursuant to their coercion, you will be rightfully hated; (3) you will be happy only if you are mediocre; (4) you need to bribe people to be your friends. And the message here is not about sharing. Notice, the Rainbow Fish does not "share" his scales (sharing would imply that his friends were going to give the scales back when they are done.) No, the Rainbow Fish is compelled (by emotional coercion) to give away that which makes him special. What part of this story is supposed to be edifying? It is garbage.

I had heard alot about the famous rainbow fish books and when I saw the 10th anniversary book out, I decided to buy it for my 2 year old. I happily sat down with her at bedtime to read her the story and I finished the book feeling not so happy about the book.
The rainbow fish is aesthetically, a very pleasing book, with it's beautiful many hued fish and the shimmery shiny scales, but all the visual effects do not make for the rather unpleasant story line. Sharing is one thing, but when you have to give away the one thing that makes you unique in order to cultivate friends suggests that the only way friendship can be had is through purchase. The little fish asks a second time for a scale, even though he was refused the first time after which he alienated all the other fish from rainbow fish. What does the story say about small (minded, greedy) people who want what another has and when they don't get it they go around poisoning everyones' minds against the person? This story left a bad taste and I returned the book the very next day.

This book has won several awards and is beautifully illustrated, thus I made the mistake of purchasing it for my daughter without reading it all the way through. Don't make the same mistake.

This is the story of a beautiful fish who is hated and ostrasized by all the other fish in the sea because they envy his beautiful silver scales. I assumed that the moral of the story would have something to do with everyone being beautiful in his or her own way, and that eventually the other fish would come to recognize their own beauty. Unfortunately not. Instead, the Rainbow Fish is harangued and harrassed by his fellow fish until he has given away all but one of his silver scales. In the end he is very happy because he has become popular.

The morals of this story are pretty shocking: 1.) It suggests that children should give in to peer pressure. 2.) It teaches children that friendship can be bought. 3.) It says that it is not only right, but a moral imperative, to sacrifice the very essence of yourself for the sake of popularity. 4.) It suggests that popularity is the ultimate good, and that one cannot be happy without it. 5.) It teaches that envy will be rewarded. 6.) It teaches children that it's okay to ostrasize people who are different. 7.) It teaches that rude behavior is acceptable if it gets you want you want. 8.) It suggests (to younger readers in particular, who may not be capable of grasping metaphor) that only outer beauty matters. 9.) It teaches that happiness can be achieved by tearing down or destroying what belongs to others. 10.) It preaches a kind of social Marxism: that there is no value in the uniqueness of an individual, that his worth and his happiness depend on his desire to conform to the values and demands of his peer group.

Frankly, I am astounded that anyone saw fit to confer any honors upon this book.

So, I'm browsing for childrens books...and I see this one and remember it from when I was a kid. So I come to check it out...and what do I find...a bunch of nonsense about the underlying message in the book and how terrible it is. Another reviewer said it perfectly "four year olds don't think like you". Do you know what I remember about this book? HOW MUCH I LOVED THE GLITTERY SCALES. I was not scarred into becoming a socialist or ripping off my flesh to make my friends like me. Cheese and crackers people!

Pfister adds gold foil to the pages of Rainbow Fish for the fish scales. They seem to be gimmicky efforts to evoke feelings in order to enhance a weak story. The children who read the Pfister book are meant to become envious over the glitter of the gold foil as were the other fishes. Furthermore, the book is also quite steeped in the dreaded didactics. The octopus directly instructs the Rainbow Fish in "correct" behavior. Why should the Rainbow fish give up pieces of his body that protect him, to these other fish just so they will leave him alone? Some might be inclined to call this a Marxist philosophy incorrectly, but for the fact that the other little fish had no "need" for the Rainbow Fish's body parts. They simply wanted them. The worst human emotions should not be evoked in children's literature--at least not held out for modeling. Children should certainly not be encouraged to model conformity, greed, and buying friendship.