Swimmy

Ah, Swimmy. You charming little guppy. This books wins the award for Subtlest-Book-About-Diversity for 1963. It is wholly and entirely charming. Swimmy is the only little fish amongst his brothers and sisters who was born black instead of red. A faster fish than all of them, Swimmy has the mixed blessing of being able to out swim a big fish that has come to devour his family. Poor Swimmy is left all alone in the world, but his sadness doesn't last for very long. The undersea world is full of wonders, including medusas made of rainbow jelly, a forest of seaweeds growing from sugar candy rocks, and sea anemones that look like, "pink palm trees swaying in the wind". When Swimmy stumbles across another group of small red fish, his quick thinking helps them to band together to fight the larger fish in the sea.For any kid that loved "Finding Nemo", I think this book would be an excellent companion. The lesson is twofold. One is that when people band together they can fight the unnaturally large problems facing them. Another is that being different, like Swimmy, can be a wonderful thing. I'm sure you're going to read reviews from people decrying this book as Communist propaganda (after all, it's a bunch of red fish finding strength in numbers to defeat the more powerful members of society that were previously eating them), and that's fine. It could definitely be read that way, and there's nothing wrong with that. But for those of you who feel that the book was probably meant to be read as a story for children and that's that, you're undoubtedly more correct.Leo Lionni is a magnificent artist, by the way. No one draws jellyfish with as much light and airy oomph as he does. The sea's wonders are all alight here, with little black Swimmy eyeing each and every one. There's a beauty to these watercolors that is difficult to find anywhere else. Even today, with our high tech picture book wizardry and computer generated images, nothing looks as pleasing to the eye as Lionni's tendrils of swaying anemones. Originally published in 1963, the book has not aged. Looking at it today, it never will.

Who couldn't love the adorable fish that devises the perfect plan. At first this tiny little black fish is the only survivor of his large group of red fish. All alone he sets off to explore the ocean I love how Leo Lionni describes the sea animals Swimmy meets along the way. "The sea anemones, who look like pink palm trees swaying in the wind" and "an eel whose tail was almost too far away remember." Finally Swimmy meets up with another group of friends but they are afraid to explore the ocean like Swimmy does. So Swimmy devises a plan where all the fish group together in the shape of a large fish with Swimmy as the eye. All together they are safe from danger. This book teaches children do many great lessons. It shows them how when you work together you can do anything! This is an excellent book to use in classrooms with young children!

A lot of children's books deal with sharing and getting along with others. A lot try to help children be themselves. The brilliance of Leo Lionni is that in book after book he brings these two ideas together, showing children that they can be themselves and care about others at the same time. Many of Lionni's best books - Frederick, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Tico and the Golden Wings, and Swimmy - all deal with this theme.Of all these, Swimmy is probably the one with the most immediate appeal to small children. The idea of little fish banding together to scare off the big bully fish is really empowering to small children. And the illustrations are delightful.As a writer and former English teacher, I also love Lionni's simple poetic language. You have to love a writer who writes about "an eel whose tail was almost too far away to remember" and describes sea anemones as "pink palm trees swaying in the wind." Hearing such beautiful and evocative language from an early age can't help but make children better readers and writers later on.If I could, I'd send every baby home from the hospital with one of Rosemary Wells' Max books and this book. It belongs in every library.

This book is a must for every child's library. There are so many topics of discussion that can be brought out with just this one book. Friendship, courage, cooperation, and the ocean life are just a few. If you are a teacher, or have young children, this book is a must.Note to teachers: I use this during my ocean unit in kindergarten. We then make an ocean mural. Every child makes a red fish and I make a black fish, which is Swimmy. We then work together to make all of our fish look like one big fish. The children love it!

I love to read this to our students in our children's library. It's lessons are so varied. Teamwork, thinking creatively and being different are all topics to discuss after this great read. The illustrations and language are simply astounding. It is an underwater dreamscape that provokes contemplation for adults as well as children!