This is the original Rainbow Fish story which is a simple moral tale designed for very young children. The Rainbow Fish is beautiful, but arrogant and selfish. He has to learn that superficial qualities such as beauty and wealth cannot be valued over friendship and happiness.

It is at best an oversimplification to say this is a book about sharing, and I cannot agree at all with the reviewers who claim it is about being forced to give up one's unique identity in order to fit in with the crowd. To me that is yet another case of people impressing adult attitudes and ideals on to a children's book and I'm sad to see so many people seem to have missed the point, which is not that the Rainbow Fish gives away his shining scales, but that he learns humility. This is a charming and classic children's book from my home continent and I'm proud to have it on my daughter's bookshelf.

This book is a classic! I remember having it read to me when I was an elementary school brat, and now it's great to read all over again. It's a great story with a great message and plenty of fun characters plus some gorgeous artwork.

I read this book when I was a kid and i still love it. It's all about how you shouldn't be proud and that sharing is caring (not to be cliche). SOme people think it's about socialism or that everyone should be the same. But it is just showing kids that being full of yourself is an undesirable trait.

I purchased this book as part of a shower gift. My daughter loved this book when she was little with all of the brightly colored, shiny fish. I could not find it in any store so I was happy to get it.

My best friend's wife is a third grade teacher, and she was given the book for use by a fellow teacher at her school. I picked up the book and read it while at their house to humor myself. Much to my suprise I ended up in a heated disucssion with my friend's wife. We life in a country with rights and freedoms not allowed throughout the world, and furthermore, we are a society that embraces capitalism and the right to property. The morals that this book teaches is an insult to American culture and values (not to mention capitalistic values). Reminds me of when one of my Aunt's children went to school on their first day (after my Aunt went out and spent way too much money buying expensive school supplies for my cousin) and came home crying saying that the teacher "stole all my school supplies." Turns out the teachers at that school CONFISCATE all children's school supplies and divide them evenly to be fair and make sure everyone has the same amount! Needless to say that after a phone call my cousin got all her belongings back.

Andy,
Atlanta, GA

Whenever I choose a book for a child I buy the "The Rainbow fish" as it tells a inspiring story children can learn from and is beautifully illustrated. Marcus Pfister is a gifted childrens writer and has written other wonderful books.

I have always loved this book and unlike most adults, I take it for what it is . . . a children's book! It's purpose is not to promote mediocrity but to show that happiness can come from treating others with kindness and not being prideful. This kind of story is no different than the fables and stories that our parents used to tell us. Apparently there are some parents these days who just don't want to teach their children any values.

Marcus Pfister, The Rainbow Fish (North-South, 1992)

It seems everyone in the world except me had heard of this book, which I have now been given to understand is a classic kids' picture book. So, not wanting to be left out (as usual), I grabbed a copy from the library and gave it a go. (How popular it is can be measured by how long I waited for this on hold-- close to six months.) And it's not bad, if a bit gimmicky (the little reflective bits on the pages, which seems a lot more like something someone in marketing came up with, rather than the author saying "hey, wouldn't this be cool?") and more than a bit heavy-handed (this is one case where my well-trod phrase "as subtle as a week-old dead haddock" is actually more apropos than usual). And, of course, the book's moral has been done eight hundred thousand times in kidlit, so if you prefer your kids getting the "sharing is caring" message in a more well-presented way, you've certainly no shortage of alternatives. But the shiny bits will probably hold your kids' attention, and it's an easy-to-follow story. Not bad. ***

Look people. We as adults would take offense to this book had it been written for US. But this book is for babies and toddlers. The sparkle fish scales are to get a babies attention and the whole moral to the story is for toddlers. See toddlers do not share, it is not that they are destined to be selfish or mean nor does it reflect any parenting skills. They are selfish and that is how they survive! This book it just a little story about sharing. I have a one, two, and three year old and that is one lesson we have to re-teach about every ten minutes. It is a cute book full of beautiful pictures and has a cute "KIDDIE MORAL".

We are a religious household and we are always learning the way of God and always doing our best to stay on the path to righteousness, but when it comes to kids we must remember their complete innocence and simple values. As they get older if the book still holds up with three boys (not likely unless it was made of steal) we will explain that it is is a simple book for babies and that it is not our job as kids, teens, and adults to blend in, or stand out... our job is to follow the path that God has laid for us.

So, please remember...... baby/toddler books are written for baby/toddlers! :)

ps. I think it is so funny that people come out of the woodwork screaming disdain for this book yet I never hear any bible remarks to Harry Potter books which involve witchcraft, not that I have a problem with those books either. They are books that spark imagination and they are not real or true which we will one day explain to our children if they ever read or watch the series.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who was baffled as to why this book is a bestseller for children. I was given this book as a gift, and I threw it out after reading it, because when my children are older, I don't want them thinking they need to give away their coats or backpacks in order to win friends. That's the message this book conveys. It deserves zero stars, but that is not an option.

Although the book is quite attractive and catches the attention of younger readers, the subtext is somewhat concerning. The moral of the story could well be interpreted as encouraging children to share their toys with others or to put their talents towards service to the community, and as a parent I would be loathe to put that sort of moral pressure on them before they are old enough to make up their own mind about such matters. Otherwise, I and my wife fear, they might grow up to be the sort of person who donates money to victims of earthquakes or typhoons, or who asks what they can do for their country rather than what their country can do for them.

The otherwise innocent story book also implicitly condones moral coercion by putting social pressure on individuals to comply with the social expectations of others, whereas we believe that the only legitimate incentives for encouraging proper behaviour are economic and legal. For example, we never put any emotional pressure on our children to discourage them from telling lies, or using bad language. Both their mother and I have made it a policy to give them chocolates or money to tell the truth and not to swear, that is, providing them with a carrot rather than a stick to encourage desirable behaviour. We recognising their fundamental right to choose to behave any way that they like as long as it isn't illegal (like jaywalking or stealing). We also both find it quite frustrating when other parents encourage their children to shun ours simply because our children have learnt to be assertive and are able to get their own way most of the time, and this book legitimises that kind of social coercion.

There is also a strong undercurrent of promoting social conformity, which we also find quite disturbing. For example, our neighbours are stuck on enforcing some artificial notions of "decency" on us even when its hot, whereas we just take off our clothes rather than conforming to their behaviour. If we were to encourage our children to conform to social expectations in this way we are fairly sure they would end up feeling obliged to appear "professional" as adults in any employment environment rather than feeling comfortable with the idea of being able to express their individuality by how they dress.

In sum, this book, despite being beautiful looking and being very easy to read, encourages self-sacrifice, unassertiveness and discourages individual self-reliance, teaching children that they should conform to the expectations of others rather than making their own decisions, and to appear like everyone else rather than standing out. In my grandparents Chinese culture they have a saying "The nail that sticks up must be hammered down" - and this is the dangerous social message that this book encourages.

This is a book about sharing and not being arrogant and proud. I think it's a great message. It makes sense that the rainbow fish should share something good with his friends rather than keeping it greedily for himself and acting like he's above the other fish. I think the message is opposite of what the negative reviewers are saying - the message is that people will like you because you are a good person who shares, not because of what's on the outside.

This book preaches conformity and enforces that different is bad. I will NOT allow my children to read this trash. Each and every person and animal on this planet is different, and for someone to actually waste the paper to publish a book like this absolutely disgusts me. Differences should be accepted or even celebrated. This book teaches the very opposite.
What a waste.

Rainbow Fish in concept doesn't actually start out badly right off...it could have been a nice little "morality play" about vanity and pride and how to be considerate of others while celebrating what makes you glitter, literally or figuratively. But that's not where Marcus Pfister chooses to go with it at all. True, at the beginning the little fish is not a very nice or sympathetic character, and does nothing to mitigate the envy of other fish towards his glittery scales. But the lesson he is taught by the octopus is just wrong in so, so many ways! I don't know what is more of a problem for me. Is it...

1) The idea that having something unique and special about you in and of itself makes you deserving of scorn and hatred (as opposed to how you choose to act because of or in spite of that uniqueness).

2) That you should "buy" yourself friends

3) That the only way to make friends if you are unique or different is to shed what is unique to fit in and stop inviting envy

4) That you should give into whatever peers and friends want from you and demand of you, just to get them to like you

5) That you should be ashamed or apologetic about your natural talents and inner or outer beauty

To those who say that it's just about "sharing" and those of us who don't like the book are reading too much into it, I respond that there are some children who process learning very deeply from books... I know because my 5 year old is one of them. I rely greatly on books (good ones..not like this one) when she is facing a crisis like friend trouble, a developmental block like potty learning, a struggle like a death in the family, a fear like her first haircut. I ask for recommendations and read books until I find one that is supportive, but subtle so that she can draw from it what she needs. I shutter to think what messages about peer pressure and self-deprication she would draw from this. She is VERY much perceptive enough, as has been for many years, to draw these negative messages from this book, and I would never want that to color her relationships with other kids or adults.

There are incredibly good books out there about sharing.. one of my favorites is "How Kind" by Mary Murphy.

Please, please don't read Rainbow Fish to your kids or anyone else's.

PLEASE do not listen to the negative reviews about this book. I am so glad I didn't! This is a great story for children about the importance of sharing and being kind to others. For the life of me, I cannot understand how people can write about communism and politics in reference to this book. It is utterly ridiculous. My daughter is 4 and she loves this book. She talks about how it makes the rainbow fish feel nice to be able to share with his friends. What more could I ask for out of a book? I almost didn't buy this book b/c of the reviews, and it was my daughter who asked me to get it. She had read it in her preschool class. I am glad I listened to my 4 year old over many of the adults who wrote a review. Clearly, she is able to see this book for what it is: a simple story about sharing and kindness. Enjoy!

THE BOOK IS A FAMILY FAVORITE, BUT I WISH THIS ONE DIDN'T HAVE THE MARKINGS IN IT..HARD TO CLEAN UP. OTHERWISE THE BINDING AND PAGES WERE IN GOOD SHAPE

The illustrations in this book are well done and creative but that is the only good thing to be said about Rainbow Fish. To quote another reviewer - couldn't say it better myself - the "moral(s)" of the book, 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.

A much superior and positive message can be found in the new book Starboortz Fish. This story is about a starfish that sets about to find his special talents and how he can can use his skills make him successful and happy. That is the message that children ought to be hearing.

Pros: colorful, easy read for beginning readers

Cons: gives the reader the belief that you must give away what makes you special in order to make friends.

I personally don't want those friends, nor do I want my children to have them.

The book The Rainbow Fish is a great book to own. This book is about a very colorful fish that had shiny scales. All of the other fish wanted one of the Rainbow Fish' scales, so they said that they would be the Rainbow Fish' friend if he were to give them a scale. Since the Rainbow fish had no friends he gave all of his scales away except for one. Then he looked like everyone else and he was very happy.

This was always one of my favorite books. It teaches kids about fish and that theres something special about everyone!

-Laura R.

My daughter's teacher adored this book last year, her first year to teach grade 2. I purchased this as a gift to a wonderful educator who will continue to share it with her classes throughout the years.

I must admit that I wondered about the message The Rainbow Fish was sending. After all, the fish does give all but one of his scales away, and unlike in some classics like The Happy Prince, the recipients of his generosity weren't saved from an unhappy fate by his gift - they merely received something they'd admired. I kind of wondered if this encouraged over-generosity and might lead a sensitive and giving child to be taken advantage of.

However, I do think the overriding message of The Rainbow Fish is that giving is good - a message that we don't hear often enough in society today. I also think that the characterization of the fish before he decided to give his scales away - as a prideful, rude, unfriendly fish who was more concerned about his appearance than about someone else's feelings - makes it easier for a child to understand why the fish's actions at the beginning of the book were wrong. In large part, it's not simply the fact that the fish doesn't want to part with his scales but the fact that he rejects the smaller fish's request so brusquely that causes all the other fish to shun him. In that sense, giving away his scales is almost an atonement for his earlier actions.

Ultimately, though, children who read this story will interpret on a much simpler level: The Rainbow Fish is mean and greedy, so the other fish stop playing with him. When the fish acts nice and generous, everyone plays with him again. The moral of the story: Be nice and generous. I don't think anyone can fault that message.