The Rainbow Fish

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister translated by J. Alison James

Christian

Evaluation of Book

The sparkly holographs in the story The Rainbow Fish is the first thing that a reader notices. In this story Rainbow Fish know that his scales are beautiful and his pride causes problems with the other fish. He doesn’t want to share his special scales and so his greediness leaves him friendless. In his loneliness he seeks the advice of the wise octopus. Predictably the octopus tells him that if he gives away his beauty he will achieve happiness.

https://www.bookdepository.com/Rainbow-Fish-Marcus-Pfister/9781558585362

The story shares a message of giving to others. In sharing his scales Rainbow Fish realizes that this causes him great joy. It also creates friendships with the other fish and Rainbow Fish is happy.

The use of watercolors by Pfister creates the watery effect needed for this story. The purple, blue and green colors chosen create the perfect mood. Pfister contrasts this with some bright white pages that only contain text. The silvery foil used by the author for the scales catches the light as it is read and is a unique feature of the book.

Response

The Rainbow Fish has been a popular book to teach the themes of friendship and giving. I appreciate that those are important ideas to be shared with readers. However, sometimes I wonder why Rainbow Fish has to give away his scales in order to be liked. He certainly shouldn’t have been so proud when the fish asked about his scales but why did the little fish need the scales. Wasn’t he happy with his own image? Couldn’t he have declined the offer of the scale and played together anyway? It seems there are different ways of looking at the story.

Conclusion

Personally, I have never been a fan of this story. However, the book has been widely popular and the shimmery scale entices the littlest of readers. It is probably one that I should recommend.

Citation

Pfister, M., & James, J. A. (1992). The rainbow fish. New York: North-South Books.