The Fisherman and His Wife

The Fisherman and His Wife is a great story to teach young children about fairy tales. The fisherman comes back with no fish one evening, but he did meet a talking flounder that makes wishes come true. Throughout the story, the wife makes the husband go wish to have materialistic things and power. This teaches young children about greed. At the end, everything goes back to normal and they spend the rest of their days in the pigsty of a home. I loved this book because of all the predictions that can be made as you read. A talking fish is funny to children as well. It is great to be able to get the children thinking about reality vs. fairy tale, and how even a fairy tale can teach a very important lesson such as greed.

Caldecott Honor winning artist Rachel Isadora brings another fabulous fairy tale to brilliant life with her stunning collages. The Brothers Grimm story of the kind fisherman who catches an enchanted fish, and his greedy wife who always wants more, is perfect for these "give-me" times.
Rachel Isadora's captivating collage-style artwork, featuring the African landscape and the increasingly turbulent ocean, provides a wonderful new backdrop for this classic story.

I loved so many things about this book. First, the illustrations were beautiful. The blend of African culture and water color was very appealing. African patterns were used throughout the book and the setting was perfect for the enhancement of the illustration. Second, even though there are many versions of "The Fisherman and His Wife", this was my personal favorite because it was portrayed in the African culture. It made me think about Africa itself. Knowing that Africa is a third world country, it made it even more interesting to read this story about greed. The overall meaning of this story is to stop being greedy and appreciate the things are given to you. There is more to life than materialistic things or power.

"Be happy with what you have. It is okay to strive for more but do not become greedy." This is what I feel like this book is saying. A fisherman catches a talking fish and doesn't bring dinner home to his wife. His wife sees an opportunity and jumps on it, asking for nicer home after nice home, and then, to be a higher being. Eventually asking to be God the fisherman was terrified by his wife's actions. I love that every time the husband came to ask for more the water got darker and scarier, I really appreciated the illustrations.

Here we have the classic retelling of Grimm's fairy tale. An old man lives in a rundown hovel by the sea with his wife. One day, he catches a flounder, but as he is about to take it home for dinner, the flounder calls out, telling him he can grant wishes if only the old man will let him go. The fisherman, being a nice old guy, just lets the flounder go. But when he gets home and tells him wife about the flounder, she demands that he return and ask for a nicer house. The fisherman does so, and the flounder gives them a pleasant little cottage. But now the wife has got a taste of getting her wishes granted, and she sends her husband back repeatedly, asking him to make her a lady, then a queen, then an empress, and finally the pope. But show more when she asks to be God, the flounder takes everything away, and they return to their humble hovel.

The twist on this story is the beautiful African-style illustrations. They show how universal this message of not being too greedy is, as this story appears to work in any setting, with only a few changes to the details. Again, here the fish represent wanting more than is good for you, and learning to be satisfied with what you have.

For ages 6 - 10. show less

The Fisherman and His Wife by Rachel Isadora is a retelling of a Brothers Grimm folk tale. She sets the tale in an African village by the sea. The kind fisherman, upon meeting a magical fish, spares his life. His wife, however, demands the fish to give her something in return. As the wife’s greed intensifies, she makes her humble husband ask for more and more. When her requests become too outrageous, everything is taken from her in a single moment.
Isadora’s retelling of this famous folktale is delightful. The watercolor illustrations are vibrant and capture the African culture. This is a charming book to share with children when teaching about folk tales, morals in folktales, greed, entitlement and appreciating what one has.

In the story of the Fisherman and His Wife we see what can happen when you are taken over by pure greed. The fisherman catches a talking fish and spares his life. When the fisherman comes home to tell his wife she makes him go back to wish to live in a hut instead of the pig pen. He does as his wife orders and the fish makes it come true. Then the wife wants a castle, then to be king, then to be emperor, and finally she wants to god. At this last one the fish tells then man to go home and when he does he sees that all the things they had wished for before are gone and all that is left is the pig pen they started with.
We learn what it means to take advantage of someone and to become so greedy we lose sight of what we really value about show more our lives. I thought the story was a great read and the illustrations paired nicely to the folk lore tale. show less