Customer Reviews

Where's the Fish?

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We have many of Taro Gomi's books, and they are the best; real works of art. Since we are raising our daughter bi-lingual, we have this book "Where's the Fish" in both editions, English and Japanese. The Japanese version is wonderful. The English version has the same fantastic graphics of course, but the translation is, well, a bit strange. As the fish in the story floats from hiding-place to hiding-place, the question "Where's the fish?" and answer "There he is!" seem to be on the wrong pages. Also, the Japanese version has much more detail, where the English version just repeats the same answer/question over and over.
This is especially puzzling since the book details the credentials of the translator! All she seems to have done is strip out all the details and repeat the same question over and over. Other Gomi books have no credentials listed, but are wonderfully translated. In particular; "Bus Stops" by Gomi is a MUST BUY! We will just be reading the original Japanese of "Where's the Fish?"

This is a fun picture book for very young children. Children are encouraged to identify the fish that has left its fishbowl in various colorful environments, e.g., in a pot of flowers, in a jar of candies, in a room of toys. It's cute and will be entertaining for the youngest of children.

Even though the most helpful critical reviewer dispensed great info, my kids and I will still continue to love this book because: a)I do not know how to read Japanese, b)we do not know what we are missing, and c)we just naturally embellish the story. Gomi's pics capture bits of Japanese culture with a 1970's nuance. The repetition is great for really small ones, kids just learning to read, and kids with developmental delays. The story line: a little pinky-red fish escapes his bowl and goes through several rooms in a house, hiding himself along the way. Curtains, plant-life, a candy jar, a bowl of strawberries, a TV screen, a room full of toys, and a complex bathroom mirror (which image shows the actual fish?) all provide places for our friend to hide. He finally makes it to a pond outside of the house, reunited with all his friends. Don't worry- he's easy to find in that illustration, and also look for the one "laughing" fish on the same page, which we just discovered recently! Where's the Fish?....he's in our hearts (corny, but true).

This is basically a very simple I Spy sort of book for very young children. Warning, the text consists almost entirely of "Where's the fish? There's the fish." But for some reason my son adores this book. He won't even sit through most books. But he wants me to read this book over and over again. He gets so excited to see the fish on each page. He even shouts out "there!" and "Oh No!" as if this were just the most spellbinding book ever. So I am giving this book 5 stars based on his opinion, not mine; although I do enjoy the pictures, it does get very boring for me reading the same words over and over again. I would suggest showing your child this book in the bookstore before buying it to see if you both like it.