Left Wing Propaganda Disguised as Children's Book

http://www.pegkehret.com/index.html ^ | April 25, 2003 | self

[ClearCase_guy]

And I can see your point as well. I do think, however, that the author stacks the deck and apparently makes the rainbow fish rather unlikeable (almost a stereotype of a selfish, insensitive, haughty, advantaged-through-birth rich person).

[CharacterCounts]

Eventually he shares his scales. He had friends

Rainbow fish went behind sharing. He was left with just one scale and every other fish and one scale. That's not sharing that's redistribution of wealth. Notice now he is no longer rainbow fish. He's just like every other fish in the sea. The objection I have with the book is not the concept of sharing but the authors definition of what constitutes sharing. Sharing should not mean that you have to give up with special about you.

the book also brought to mind to questions when I was reading it to my son. The first was what will the fish do when another fish with no scales comes upon the scene? Rainbow fish only has one scale left. Must he give that scale up to be accepted?

[Ches]

"I made my kids read it"

We also picked Treasure Island up for our daughter and had her read it. She absolutely loved it. She's put some other Stevenson titles on order at the public library. I'm so glad they have interlibrary loan, she wanted to buy every Stevenson title she could find on eBay.

[Black Agnes]

Fish w/o scales usually die. Make of that what you will. The other fish had all their original scales, plus one pretty one. The 'rainbow' fish was scaleless. Kill the wealthy?

[AnAmericanMother]

I think she will like Kidnapped, and with a little work I think David Balfour would be attractive. Depending on her age, the Child's Garden of Verses may still be o.k. for her. Then The Master of Ballantrae. I would save The Wrong Box and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for later.

[geopyg]

I think the kids see this book mostly as sharing, but I personally don't care for the message of giving it all away. However, I think that at this young age these books form less of a child's outlook than the conversations around the dinner table. Now in fourth grade, I think I was getting more and more of my world views from books and magazines, although they were about things that I was already interested in and probably had "beliefs" about.

Now, my two pre-schoolers (twins) are liking a book about 10 little lady bugs. It starts off with 10 ladybugs, and by the time the caterpillar, grasshopper, frog, etc. eat them there is only one. (He flys home and then there are none.) I'm thinking this is just a counting book, but perhaps its really trying to tell the story of how the inperialist American dictator King George is going after the small defenseless and innocent countries one at a time?! ;)

[fml]

LOL, kill the wealthy and destroy the beautiful.


He gave almost all of it away because he finally learned it felt good to share. No?

[ladylib]

All

What school is really supposed to be all about:

http://www.edaction.org/action.htm

Check the sign outside of the Wayzata Central Middle School. It says it all.