Rainbow Fish

Book Cover:  

Book Summary:  What is a fish to do when someone asks for one of his shiny scales?  He decides not to give up the scale.  Then one day while swimming around he noticed that he was all alone, and became very sad.  In his travels he meets a wise old octopus that suggests he gives away some of his scales.  He ponders this and on his way home he meets up with another fish that asks to have one of his scales.  Rainbow fish decides to give away a scale, and another, and another.  In the end he has all sorts of friends and he feels good about sharing with his friends.

APA Reference: 

Pfister, M. (1992). The Rainbow Fish. New York: North-South Books.

Impressions:  There is a good message in the book, but just because the Rainbow fish didn’t want to share he shouldn’t have been shunned form the other fish.  Yes to be nice the Rainbow Fish should have given up a scale.  Students need to learn boundaries that sometimes we just don’t want to share.  

Professional Review:  Publishers Weekly November 2, 1992  Despite some jazzy special effects achieved with shimmery holographs, this cautionary tale about selfishness and vanity has trouble staying afloat. Rainbow Fish, ``the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean,'' refuses to share his prized iridescent scales--which, indeed, flash and sparkle like prisms as each page is turned. When his greed leaves him without friends or admirers, the lonely fish seeks advice from the wise octopus, who counsels him to give away his beauty and ``discover how to be happy.'' The translation from the original German text doesn't enhance the story's predictable plot, and lapses into somewhat vague descriptions: after sharing a single scale, ``a rather peculiar feeling came over Rainbow Fish.'' Deep purples, blues and greens bleed together in Pfister's liquid watercolors; unfortunately, the watery effect is abruptly interrupted by a few stark white, text-only pages. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Citation: 

The Rainbow Fish. (1992, November 2). Publishers Weekly, 239(48), 70. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA12883845&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&asid=71519eb025e1f2cd5f41e3d4f554b100

Library use:  I would use this book at the start of the school year to introduce students to the idea of sharing and how not to be selfish.  Possibly when the younger students are talking about the ocean, so we could talk about the scales of a fish, why is the octopus hiding in the dark.