100 books like The Little Black Fish

This is one of those books that takes you into a magical, new world; then you remember that, in actual fact, this is the very same world that we live in. The change of perspective that this book gives you can make you dizzy, as every page is filled with mouth-gapingly awesome facts on the life of mushrooms and what they contribute to life on this planet.

Being Polish, I always felt an affinity with mushrooms and thought that I knew more about them than your average person. In the most wonderful way, this book made me realise that I know nothing, and I love books like that.

Growing up and finding our ways in the world is a lifelong process of trials and errors. There are moments of despair and joy. Hopes can be crushed. New Dreams are born. This beloved story is one that I still think about when I see how I’m judged by all sorts as I simply mind my own life and try to find my way. In the hands of the great storyteller, Hans Christian Anderson, the metaphor of an ugly duckling becoming a gorgeous swan, tells us how overcoming our adversities will indeed help us become a beauty. Thank you Hans!

Wilde suggested this story be read aloud. My father, ever the storyteller, obliged. He adored Wilde’s other writings as well. I remember borrowing other Oscar Wilde’s books, as a young adult, from my father’s library. However, my dad had modified the ending of The Selfish Giant by eliminating the nail and blood part. I only found out about the actual ending years later, but somehow he had managed to keep the essence of the story regardless of his change to the ending. The Selfish Giant, is a vast story with all the beautiful seasons and all the tender love a human needs. I will cherish this story in my heart, forever.

This hilarious picture book makes me laugh out loud every single time I read it, even when I had to read it consecutively to my children during their bedtime. I think humanity is nothing without laughter. Do animals make jokes and laugh? Sometimes we think writing and learning from the accumulation of knowledge is one of the most important human traits, but what about laughter? What about not taking ourselves seriously? What about the ability to poke fun at ourselves and our crazy actions and thoughts? Einstein was definitely a genius and we are all in awe of him, but I think people who can make us laugh are also brilliant. I’m grateful for laugh creators.

Finally, a food book. But more than that, Mediterranean Seafood recounts a personal journey, as Alan Davidson learned to identify the diversity of Mediterranean catches and how best to use each species. It was an invaluable guide on my visits to the market at Sète, and as I pored over the displays I listened to conversations between sellers and buyers, exchanges of gossip and cooking tips, and marvelled at the ingenuity of these Mediterranean women in accommodating seafood in so many different ways when my palate knew only fried or grilled. Part catalogue and part cookbook, it combines the best of both. If only eighteenth-century travellers had the benefit of such a guide, they might have been more daring in their eating. 

Looking for vegetarian options? This Reading Rainbow selection, published in 1980, is a masterpiece in story and art! Louis, who was born into a family of butchers, hates meat. But he loves watching fish! After his parents die, Louis inherits the butcher business. One night, Louis, who is miserable being a butcher, dreams he is a fish. When he wakes, he discovers he is a fish. A salmon. A very happy salmon who swims gleefully ever after. The story is a springboard for discussions on the importance of being true to yourself.

The classic “David and Goliath” theme of a smaller hero conquering a mighty adversary—but with a fishy twist! A school of small red fish and one black fish, Swimmy, all live together happily until “one bad day” a huge tuna gobbles up all the red fish. Only Swimmy, who is faster than the others, gets away. At first Swimmy is lonely without his friends but then bravely begins exploring the wonders of the sea. When Swimmy finds a new school of red fish, he tries to get them to come out to play. But they are too afraid to go out because a big fish might eat them. Then Swimmy gets an idea. He trains the school of small red fish to swim in formation like one big fish, with him as the eye. 

I often read this book with kids in libraries and classrooms. They love it and I do too because the pictures are simple, repetitive and often show the opposite of what the words have said. That’s what makes it so funny. The eyes of the characters tell so much of this story and the abundance of black sets a slightly menacing mood, which is a great contrast to the confident naïveté of the little fish. There’s a confession on the first page about stealing and we really hope the little fish will get away with it. It’s a wonderful, ambiguous ending and there’s so much to talk to kids about in this book. 

New York Times bestselling author and ecologist Carl Safina writes about the oceans and their inhabitants with beautiful and elegant prose, and this book is not different. Song for the Blue Ocean takes the readers on a passionate and intimate journey of discovery; Safina is a master in revealing the magnificence and the secrets of the ocean realm using his personal experiences in nature.

I loved Anglerfish because you really feel like you are traveling with this particular creature on her journey to the deepest reaches of the ocean. She starts out this really cute, vulnerable baby and ends up pretty darn ferocious looking (here I should add that I think the illustrations are just outstanding!!)

We see her morph from a regular looking baby fish to one that has ferocious teeth, and more unusually, a lantern sticking out of her forehead! This has GOT to be one of the weirdest creatures on the planet! Plus to see the size difference between the female (big) and the male (teeny tiny) was amazing. I turned back to those pages several times.