Dean Morgan Morgan itibaren Yağıkesen Köyü, 36000 Yağıkesen Köyü/Kars Merkez/Kars, Турция
Ahem. Nice little book that teaches sharing, or subtle liberal socialist propaganda which teaches to give away all and anything special about yourself or what you have for the betterment of the whole? You might think I'm being ridiculous, but I was a bit alarmed at this children's book when a professor in a teaching class read it to us aloud. Basically, Rainbow Fish is special because, unlike the other fish, he is special and has many colors of the rainbow on his fins. The other fish grow jealous and hostile and demand that Rainbow Fish give away his beautiful scales to the others so they can have part of his beautiful colors. He refuses at first, but then yields, giving away the colored fins to all the other fishes so they each have one or two colored scales, thus equalizing the entire school. Rainbow fish is no longer special, but is happier having given this unique characteristic away because the other fish are now happy and accepting of him. Are you kidding me? This is basically telling kids that if they have something special, they should share it so that everyone is equal. But then, no one is special. It's very much like the socialist belief that if you have a skill or make more money, that money should not belong to you, the one who has it or has earned it; you should not be able to do with this as you please--which very well may be to help others. No. You are to give this away for the betterment of the group because they demand that you do so. Nobody should have any kind of special thing or advantage. Nobody should make more money than someone else or have nicer things, because it upsets people and they won't like you then. Well, too bad! Uniqueness, individuality, and independence or the very qualities that spur new ideas and new inventions which affect the greater whole for the better without the weight of dictatorship and being told to do something. A child should want to share because it is the innately right thing to do. They should want to do so out of kindness, not out of fear of reproach. For a children's book that appears to at first be about sharing, this book is good at conveying the lesson that people will always look down on others and want what they have for their own. I disagree with this moral and will not read it to my children to teach sharing, but to teach the points above--when they are old enough to understand the difference between sharing and ceding.