The Rainbow Fish in UEL Primary PGCE 2012-13

Aug 05, 2012 Robert rated it it was amazing

The central character of this book is the Rainbow Fish, the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean who was “too beautiful” to play with the other fish. One day, a small fish asks the Rainbow Fish if he can share his shiny scales with him, of which the Rainbow Fish refuses and the remaining fish in the ocean distance themselves due to his selfishness. The consequence of this is that the Rainbow Fish becomes lonely and sad. The Rainbow Fish seeks guidance from an octopus who suggests he should sh The central character of this book is the Rainbow Fish, the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean who was “too beautiful” to play with the other fish. One day, a small fish asks the Rainbow Fish if he can share his shiny scales with him, of which the Rainbow Fish refuses and the remaining fish in the ocean distance themselves due to his selfishness. The consequence of this is that the Rainbow Fish becomes lonely and sad. The Rainbow Fish seeks guidance from an octopus who suggests he should share his scales, of which he does and the remaining fish become friends with him. Although the Rainbow Fish was no longer the most beautiful fish in the ocean, this was irrelevant as he had friends thus was happy.

The overall theme of this book is the concept of sharing and friendship and the consequences if people do not conform to this social norm. This is linked to reality and children especially in the Foundation stage and KS1 are taught the concept of sharing throughout the school day. I have seen on many occasions in my five years employed as an LSA the consequences of what happens if children do not share or involve their peers in activities or play. Staff usually have to step in to encourage children to share whilst consoling the child/children who were omitted to join. Therefore, this book reiterates the social norms that society expects in a true to life way.

Another theme derived from the book is to seek guidance from others when one is upset as seen from the Rainbow Fish seeking advice from the octopus. This teaches children to always request advice from others when they are distressed, thus teaching them to resolve their problems by talking to school staff, their parents or even their peers. This is true in real with as people usually feel comforted when they discuss their problems with others.

The text of this book contains excellent adjectives and verbs which will definitely aid children to develop their vocabulary and Pfister even plays with alliteration such as “sparkling silver scales”. The illustrations complement the book and convey to the reader how “beautiful” the fish is by using an excellent, almost holographic style.

To be honest I cannot criticise this book as I can find no fault with it. It is a great social story that can be used for four to eight year olds and we have used this book for older children with SEN to reiterate the concept of sharing and friendship.

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Jul 17, 2012 Jamila Kamal rated it it was amazing

‘The Rainbow fish’ is a beautifully illustrated book written by Marcus Pfister, and is most definitely one of my favourite childhood books! It tells a story of a unique fish, who is constantly praised for having many colours of the rainbow on her fins. One day the rainbow fish is asked to share her beautiful scales with the other fish. However to their bewilderment, the brightly coloured fish refuses to share. The rainbow fish eventually seeks solace from the wise octopus who advises that it is ...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Claire Hart rated it it was amazing

A beautiful fish who has it all will not share his beautiful scales with all of the other fish. Soon the fish finds himself without a friend in the world. The fish comes to realise that there is no point in having it all if you have no friends to share with.

Realising the error of his ways, the fish starts by giving one of his shiny scales to a very happy little fish. Word spreads and eventually the fish gives out so many of his shiny scales that he only has one left himself. However, even with j ...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Shehla Khan rated it it was amazing

This book written by Marcus Pfister is about a fish which is very beautiful and has the most, shiniest scales in the whole ocean. The fish is asked to share some of her beautiful scales with the other fish, but she refuses to do so. After the rainbow fish refuses to share her scales she feels lonely and sad because none of the other fish want to play with her. She feels she is the most beautiful fish, but also feels the loneliest fish in the world. When she asks the wise octopus for advice, who ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Charlotte rated it liked it

The rainbow fish is a lovely colourful story of a beautiful fish that found himself to have no friends. Rainbow fish was greedy and smug about his appearance. after making a decision to share his beautiful scales with other fish Rainbow fish found that he did not have as much beauty as he had before but he said dozens of friends and was really happy.
This is a book suited to EYFS and early KS1 classes as a story to promote the importance of sharing and being kind to one another.

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Jul 23, 2012 Esther rated it it was amazing

Shelves: pgce-reviews

‘The Rainbow Fish’ by Marcus Pfister is a colourful and vibrant picture book about a fish with beautiful shiny scales whose vanity and selfishness causes him to lose his friends and to become unhappy. He seeks advice from the all knowing Octopus who tells him to share his beauty with his friends and to appreciate the real beauty in life. The rainbow fish decides to give each of his friends one of his sparkling multi-coloured scales, which gains their friendship again, increases his happiness and ...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Danielle S-j rated it really liked it

The Rainbow Fish is a book that I really enjoyed reading as a child mainly due to the beautiful illustrations, lovely colors and the moral of the story.

This book is based on a fish, which is described as being "the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean" due to its unique, colourful and sparkling scales. Although very beautiful to look at, Rainbow Fish felt he was better than all the other fish in the ocean and after a selfish act, he soon felt alone, isolated and friendless. However, after rec ...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Ayshah rated it really liked it

I am sure just like myself, a lot of others will have most definitely remembered The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. The story revolves around a beautiful, sparkly and colourful fish who is absolutely admired by the other creatures in the ocean. When he is asked to share one of his shining scales with another blue fish, he undoubtedly refuses. This upsets the blue fish a lot because all he had asked for was just one scale which the rainbow fish had many of. As the blue fish confesses this to the ...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Fiona Prunty rated it really liked it

“The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister.
This was one of my favourite stories when I was growing up. The story revolves around a beautiful but conceited fish that possesses sparkling blue, green, purple and silver scales. When the rainbow fish refuses to share his scales with the plainer fish at school, they ostracize him. Rainbow Fish becomes lonely and asks a wise octopus for advice. She tells him that when he gives away his scales, he will discover happiness. The rainbow fish does as the octopus “The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister.
This was one of my favourite stories when I was growing up. The story revolves around a beautiful but conceited fish that possesses sparkling blue, green, purple and silver scales. When the rainbow fish refuses to share his scales with the plainer fish at school, they ostracize him. Rainbow Fish becomes lonely and asks a wise octopus for advice. She tells him that when he gives away his scales, he will discover happiness. The rainbow fish does as the octopus suggests and is then accepted by the other fish. He learns that the more he gives away the happier he feels. At the end of the story, each fish in the school owns one of rainbow fishes glittering scales.
I really enjoy reading this book because there are valuable lessons learnt, there is fantasy with every turn of the page and the illustrations are extraordinary. I enjoyed reading about the lesson the fish learns about sharing, as this is an extremely important lesson for young children. The way in which the author uses the story of a fish and the beautiful scales, is intriguing for a child. The characters are so simple in the story which makes reading the story that bit more fun when you can create the darkness of the cave where the octopus lives with your voice, you can see by the actions on the readers face how sad the Rainbow fish is when he is alone. The illustrations are incredible, the art work is done in water colour, then the scales of the fish have glimmering pieces stuck to them that feel different to the rest of the page. The striking illustrations of the octopus in the darkness stimulates curiosity. There are contrasting backgrounds of soft colours and bright coral with crabs and dark mystical coral.
I would recommend reading this story to children aged three years and up. The story can be shortened for younger children and the language in the story suits a range of ages.
This book is an excellent book to have in the classroom, because the pages are colourful and vibrant, the words are manageable and the text is understandable for a young reader. This book would be good to read to children who have problems in sharing and socially interacting with children. Activities could be created around the theme of sharing. The story could be re-enacted in the classroom. Children can read the story using different tones in their voices, portraying a deep dark voice for the octopus and a soft elegant voice for the Rainbow fish.
I would highly recommend this book and feel that the story is full of different emotions bringing adults and children together and making them interact.
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Feb 18, 2013 Neelam rated it it was amazing

This is a lovely story that teaches children about sharing. The rainbow fish is the most beautiful fish in the sea because of all his glittering scales. He was quite proud and because he thought he was better than everyone else, and he was not in any condition willing to give up his scales. On a few occasions a little blue fish would approach rainbow fish asking for one of his scales but the rainbow fish would refuse. Until one day, he very lonely because no one wanted to play with him and they ...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Emilie Bonnie rated it really liked it

Illustrated with beautiful calming blues and purples ‘The Rainbow Fish’ is set deep in the blue sea, where lives the Rainbow Fish covered with sparkly scales and proud and silent he goes about his day. With none of the other fish wanting to be his friend and becoming increasingly lonely he seeks help from the wise octopus living in the darkest of caves, who advises that to have friends, one has to share. The Rainbow Fish left the octopus to share his scales, feeling much better and making friend ...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Sam rated it it was ok

I thought this was going to be a nice story about sharing, but unfortunately there was an undertone to this story that I was not expecting and I did not like. The story is about a beautiful fish that doesn't have any friends. All the other fish are basically jealous that he has beautiful shiny scales and they all ask him to give them one of his scales- or they won't be his friend. As I was reading this this with my children, it didn't feel right to say - yes the rainbow fish should give away his ...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Daisy P rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Brief Plot Summary

Rainbow fish is an enchanting tale of a very arrogant fish with beautiful shiny scales. The whole sea finds his scales utterly beautiful but when a fish asks him for one of his scales, the Rainbow fish doesn’t give him any at all! After a while no one wants to be friends with Rainbow fish and he becomes sad. He goes to the wise Octopus and asks his for advice. The wise Octopus tells Rainbow fish to give his shiny scales away every time someone asks for one. The Rainbow fish fol ...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Sharn Samra rated it really liked it

Rainbow fish is a well-written book, which tells the story of a not so ordinary fish that has dazzling and glittery scales. She knows that she is the most beautiful fish in the sea and honours her beautiful scales. Throughout the story, other fish in the sea request for just one shiny scale but she has always refused to give her scales away. The Rainbow fish had no one to play with and started to get very lonely in the sea. The rainbow fish came across the Octopus in the deep blue sea who had ad ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Laura Marie Gilbert rated it it was amazing

I used this book successfully with my Year 1 class to help with the understanding that we are all the same and we should all treat one another as we would like to be treated. It is good to use for themes such as sharing also. It is a great book to read with the class as it provides plenty opportunitites for class discussion during PSHCE or RE lessons.
It is about a fish who has wonderful sparkly scales and thinks he is better than all the other fish because of this. SOme of the other fish ask hi ...more

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Jun 26, 2013 Sehrish added it

I read this book to my reception class at story time after having lots of issues with children not sharing the play dough in ONE day. This story is about The most beautiful fish in the sea who is asked to share one of his shining scales with a little blue fish but he refuses to do so. All the other fish in the sea leave him alone as he was not willing to share. The fish starts to wonder why he has no friends. He then goes to the wise octopus for some advice, and she tells him to give away his sc ...more

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Jul 01, 2013 Aimee Jefferson rated it really liked it

The first time I read this book, I was still in primary school - I still remember how it caught my eye and making my own rainbow fish! This story is about a fish that has 'shiny' gills and makes it stand out from all the other fish. Due to it's unique gills, the other fish ask for some too (as the rainbow fish has many) but it refuses. Resulting from this, the rainbow fish becomes lonely as the other fish perceive it as being selfish. There is a happy ending though - after advice, the rainbow fi ...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Kimberley rated it really liked it

This is a story about a beautiful fish that has unique gills (shiny ones) that makes them stand out from the other fish. The other fish admire the scales and ask for one of the scales since they have a lot of them and the rainbow fish refuses to give one to anyone because it might take away some of their beauty. However this causes the other fish to not want to associate themselves with the fish as they perceive them as being selfish and the rainbow fish becomes lonely. After advice the rainbow ...more

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Jun 30, 2013 Shemona rated it it was amazing

One day the Rainbow Fish meets a small fish who asks for one of his scales. However, Rainbow Fish declines to share in a rude manner which leaves the small fish very upset. By refusing to share, Rainbow Fish has no-one to play with and feels quite lonely. He meets an octopus who informs him to share his beauty, this would not only make him happy but his friends around him.

Rainbow Fish is a fun loving tale which has a fantastic moral. It is a book with beautiful illustrations and highlights the ...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Kirran rated it it was amazing

This book is about Rainbow fish who is considered to be the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean. Rainbow fish is known for his vibrant scaleds.One day a small blue fish who wants one of Rainbow Fish's shimmery scales approaches him however Rainbow fish is rude and refuses to share. The Blue fish goes back to his friends and tells them what has just happened. They all decide to ignore Rainbow Fish if he is going to behave in a selfish way.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I would recom ...more

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May 04, 2013 Riona Daly rated it it was amazing

I believe this book is extremely effective for showing the importance of sharing and friendship. It makes evident that no matter how beautiful the rainbow fish looks with his sparkling scales he was still unhappy. It was only when he was advised by the Octopus that by sharing his scales with the other fish would he learn the true meaning of happiness that he first felt at home in the deep sea.

This book would be excellent for Key Stage One children as with the beautiful descriptions and illustrat ...more

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May 28, 2013 Simon Harris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I used the rainbow fish to read to my year 1 placement class, as it was related to their theme of the ocean. We discussed how the rainbow fish felt when the other fish swam away, and how important it is to share and consider others feelings. We also talked about the importance of being a part of a group and used the book to emphasise this. It is a very visual book, and the the class were engaged in the story and loved the images. I would really like to use other stories in the series. This book ...more

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Jul 03, 2013 Simone rated it liked it

Shelves: new-adventures-and-experiences, pshe

The Rainbow fish is the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean, but he is sad because no one will be his friend. After taking some advice from the wise octopus, The Rainbow Fish has a plan to put things right.

This story is a great resource for PSE and promoting positive relationships and would be suitable across Foundation Stage phase.

I read this story during carpet time to my Reception class. As the children were familiar with the story, this prompted deeper discussion regarding being kind to ...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Harkiran rated it it was amazing

The Rainbow fish is a great text for KS1 and the EYFS. The book is an underlying tale of sharing and beauty.

The Rainbow fish is a thing of beauty and is fed with comments about how gret he/she looks. Then the other fishes ask for him to share his shiny scales. He/she refuses which leads to the loss of the friends in the sea around him. Having then shared his sparkly scales the fish begins to have friends and makes the fish happy.

the moral of the story is easy enouh for young children to unders ...more

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