The Man Who Caught Fish

This is the mantra of "The Man Who Caught Fish," a folktale of the simple yet profound genre. When a man comes to town offering each person one fish per day, everything goes fine until the king shows up, wanting his royal due--a basketful of fish. This is definitely a "read it again" book around my house, and the gentle pastel paintings that illustrate it match the subtelty with which the book's message is delivered. A choice book.

The Man Who Caught Fish is a simple tale with an obvious, though not preachy, moral. Told in the style of a folk tale, but apparently an original work, the story is about a stranger who arrives in a village one day with a miraculous ability to catch fish. He distributes them to all and sundry, saying only: "One person, one fish." The king, a proud individual, believes he deserves a basketful of fish; after all, is not a king better than the common man, who gets one? The tale progresses from there, building to an unexpected (and slightly creepy) ending. The moral, basically, is that pride goeth before a fall. The illustrations are delicate and muted, very different from the eye-catching, lively pictures that are more common in today's picture books. These paintings mesh perfectly with the style and setting of the story, vividly depicting a Thailand of long ago.The book will have the greatest appeal for children in the upper end of the picture book age range; very young children will probably be less attracted to both the slightly abstract story and the complex illustrations. Parents will also enjoy the book, making it perfect for reading aloud, with discussion time to follow.