The most beautiful fish in the ocean is asked to share one of his shining scales with a little blue fish, and to which he refuses. All the other fish in the sea leave him alone, and he wondered why. He goes to the wise octopus for advice, and she tells him to give away his scales. Rainbow Fish reluctantly does so, except for one. In the end, he is less beautiful then he was before, but he has new friends and is now the happiest fish in the sea. The Rainbow Fish is an excellent book because it asks the question if the consideration of the happiness of all is reasonable at the cost of one’s own happiness. The children may argue that having friends is valuable to them, so they would give up something they cherished. They may also argue that Rainbow Fish shouldn’t have had to share his scales and still be accepted by the other fish, because it seems unfair to be shunned by a community just because you were born with something nice. This book poses the moral that being selfish and unkind will leave you lonely, but it also leaves the door open for discussion on the topic of how much should you give in order to make friends. All these are such good topics for students to think on. Rainbow Fish was my favorite book as a child because not only is the story wonderful it also has beautiful illustrations. I would use this book in a K-2nd grade classroom for a better understanding on the values of sharing and friendship.
