- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (18 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340874031
- ISBN-13: 978-0340874035
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 646,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Fish
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Review
'Stunning debut novel' (The Glasgow Herald )
'the fable-like quality of the telling has a subdued power.' (Linda Newbury, TES )
'Matthews allows just enough detail - and heart - to make miracles feel possible.' (Book of the week, Publishers Weekly )
'powerful and often surreal tale' (Western Gazette )
'A very unusual book, it maintained its pace ... the characters are so well drawn.' (Armadillo )
'A wonderful story of survival simply and powerfully told.' (Daily Echo )
'A strong, tender story ... I highly recommend this book.' (Children's Books in Ireland )
A Dog for Life: 'Children of eight to 11 will love it. And so did I.' (Telegraph )
The Outcasts: 'this absorbing adventure story ... would provoke much useful discussion among KS3 students, both in the classroom and within a smaller book-group context.' (School Librarian )
'the fable-like quality of the telling has a subdued power.' (Linda Newbury, TES )
'Matthews allows just enough detail - and heart - to make miracles feel possible.' (Book of the week, Publishers Weekly )
'powerful and often surreal tale' (Western Gazette )
'A very unusual book, it maintained its pace ... the characters are so well drawn.' (Armadillo )
'A wonderful story of survival simply and powerfully told.' (Daily Echo )
'A strong, tender story ... I highly recommend this book.' (Children's Books in Ireland )
A Dog for Life: 'Children of eight to 11 will love it. And so did I.' (Telegraph )
The Outcasts: 'this absorbing adventure story ... would provoke much useful discussion among KS3 students, both in the classroom and within a smaller book-group context.' (School Librarian )
Book of the week, Publishers Weekly
'Matthews allows just enough detail - and heart - to make miracles feel possible.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love children's books, but rarely like those with a "message." This story transcends the message. One of the most intriguing things about the book is that the child is never identified by its gender.
The story is a hopeful one, the characters are wise and kind without separation by their ethnicity. There is an intact, loving family, and a well written story. Children's fiction doesn't get much better than this!
The story is a hopeful one, the characters are wise and kind without separation by their ethnicity. There is an intact, loving family, and a well written story. Children's fiction doesn't get much better than this!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
This book is a simple story about a child and a fish.
7 July 2004
Format:Hardcover
Tiger is the child of humanitarian aid workers living in a country torn by famine and war. When their government asks them to evacuate the country, the family must make a difficult trek across the mountains to make their way back home.
The day they leave their village, Tiger rescues a fish that is slowly suffocating in a mud puddle. As the family can only take what belongings they can carry on their backs, Tiger's choice to carry the fish seems absurd. But as the mud puddle is quickly drying up, Tiger is worried that the fish will die.
"'All the animals here have died --- and lots of the people,'" says Tiger's father. "'One fish is just one fish after all.'"
However, Tiger's parents, and the Guide who takes them across the border, help Tiger transport the fish. First the fish is carried in a cooking pot, then in a water bottle, and eventually in Tiger's mouth. The people who they meet along the way think what Tiger is doing is strange, but they are also impressed by the compassion the child has for another living creature.
FISH is L.S. Matthews's first book. The focus and simplicity of this tale make it appealing to a broad range of readers. Tiger narrates the book. It is never clear whether Tiger is a boy or a girl. This makes it easier for the reader to identify with Tiger and perhaps also with the adventures that Tiger and the fish encounter.
This book is a simple story about a child and a fish. It is also about trying to make a difference, even if it is just in the life of one being. What Tiger does for the fish is no different from what Tiger's parents do as aid workers. Each makes a difference in the world one life at a time.
--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Nice
19 April 2006
Format:Hardcover
It was a nice tale about a boy called Tiger. Or at least, by their guide. Tiger and his family have to move to their neighboring country, and it is a long way to the border. They struggle as they climb the mountains, and travel through muddy river beds. Fish was an interesting book and it had a very nice story. It just didn't draw me in as well as other books have.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Not just a fish story
22 Nov 2005
Format:Audio Cassette
Narrated by a child of indeterminate gender,this seemingly simple allegory tells more than a story of child and fish. Tiger is the child of aid workers living in a country devastated by war and famine. As the family evacuates, Tiger rescues a fish that is slowly suffocating in a puddle and, even though the family may take only what they can carry on their backs, the fish is placed in a pot and carried along on the journey. The parallel stories of a quiet, gentle guide leading the family safely, the parents' selfless aid to a war-torn country, and Tiger's steely insistence that Fish should survive under such harsh circumstances create a multi-layered novel celebrating the human spirit.
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