The Little Black Fish

A good reminder that wisdom doesn’t always come with age. And that there comes a time when we have to make a break from our parents and make our own decisions.

And I want to say this all the time to people:

I’ll forgive you since you’re speaking out of ignorance.

I wonder if that would go over well.

It’s an interesting tale – and I like the art. Very simple, yet very artistic. The dialogue came off a bit odd, but I think that’s because of the translation.

The story just seemed to just end without an ending. I understand that it’s an adaptation, but I guess I’m used to morality tales with some kind of resolution. If this has one, its: If you question authority, search for truth, and practice self-sacrifice, your journey will kill you. I don’t think that’s supposed to be the moral. But maybe I need to compare it to the original story.

The Little Black Fish is a wonderful story with an important lesson. I've also read The Little Red Fish from the same illustrator and I do love the fish stories, since in a magical way they portray human society so well. In this case we have a little black fish, who wants to think outside the box and explore the world, even when all the other fish tell her that there's no world outside their pond. The fish meets other creatures -both good and bad- along her way, struggles through obstacles and becomes the hero by sacrificing herself for the good of others. The story is based on a Persian children's classic. The philosophical approach was great and rhythm was fine too - the adventures were credible and possible to get through, so in a way this felt really real (well, except for the lizard knife perhaps). The ending wasn't really into my liking, though not because of the conclusion as such, but because the ending comes too abruptly. Some explanation would've been great too, as in why didn't the fish survive this when it did all the other times and why did it suddenly want to save the other fish, when before it hadn't. The narrator fits the story and it could've enlighten us about the end result better. Now it felt rushed.

The art is wonderful again, I really like Khodabandeh's style. The line is thin and somewhat crude and at the same time very delicate. Somehow it reminded me of old Persian art. The colors are magnetic and very defined, which works well with the water-based story. It creates this luminous feeling. The graphic style along with the color choices are quite unique and very odd too, so this may not be everyone's cup of tea. The cover is a little unclear, sadly so. It took me time to get what's in it and the layout of the title just doesn't fit. A vector-like font would work way much better. It would be great if the cloud-like formations would be of a different color than black and white, since it's really hard to detect the little black fish now.

The Little Black Fish is a graphic novel adaptation of a children's story by Samad Behrangi. The story, about a fish who decides to go on an adventure to learn more about the world despite the protests from her mother and the dangers lurking in unknown waters, is intended to teach children the value of seeking their own answers. Other features include an author's note about adaptational choices and a few pages of additional art.

My favorite thing about this adaptation is the art, which is colorful and reminiscent of stained-glass patterns. The author's note and biography explains the art style is influenced by Behrangi's paintings.

The story itself is interesting, but there were a few issues. Many of the characters, including Little Black Fish, were very rude and acted so hateful toward each other, which is something I take a lot of grief with in children's books. I would have liked to see the Little Black Fish be assertive but not aggressive, to stick with her beliefs but not to insult others for their own. The other issue was that the graphic novel format would work a lot better if the text had also been adapted and even in some places, simplified, because there was a lot of text crowding the page at times and the dialogue might occasionally be difficult for a younger child to understand. I have not read the original story, so I cannot say for sure, but the author seems to have stuck very closely to the source material, which does lead to issues when adapting into graphic novel format.

Finally, the story ends abruptly and disappointingly. The story feels unfinished, which I am assuming either happens in the original story as well or that Khodabandeh intends to make a second volume to finish the story of the Little Black Fish. If a second volume was made, I would be willing to give it a chance as the story was a short, quick read.

I was neither super-impressed or super-disappointed with this book. I enjoyed the illustrations and the essence of the story, but took some issues with how it was done.

A little fish with an existential crisis. Based on a Persian folk tale this beautifully illustrated graphic novel follows a rebellious young fish on a journey to the sea. This is definitely not for younger children, as the tone is quite grim. Possibly some subtlety got lost in translation as the language was very abrupt. I enjoyed it for the art and the comment on society - a lot happening in the imagery that the text didn't quite pay justice to. Maybe let the art speak more and the text say less....

The little black fish is tired of swimming in circles all day, so she decides to leave and find out where the stream ends.

This comic is an adaptation of the children's book "The Little Black Fish" by Samad Behrangi. There's a note at the end discussing some of the changes from the original material, though none of them are that major. The main flow of the story is the same as the original text.

I loved the art style in this. It's very colourful with a lot of detailed patterns. The panel layouts are varied, which helps provide visual interest. The balance of text to art worked to make it clear what was going on.

As to the story itself, its strengths and weaknesses are down to the source material. On the plus side, it's a tale of how one person's achievements can inspired others. The frame story is a fish telling her children and grandchildren (I liked the nod to biological accuracy, as there's a huge number of them) about the black fish's adventures. It's a story about striving to achieve your dreams and ask questions, even if others are sure you're wrong.

It's also interesting in a political context, as it touches on issues like people being shunned or killed to maintain the status quo, and attempts to suppress knowledge. As someone born to a working class family, feeling like life is swimming in pointless circles, and wanting to escape that, is something I can relate to.

There are aspects I did not like as much, and would make me hesitant to read this to a younger child. Crying is treated harshly. To cry makes you a cry-baby and a disgrace. The old are criticised for whining about things. The black fish is called crazy, and calls others ignorant in response. Though being called crazy is portrayed as a bad thing, it is the black fish who is saying others must not complain about things and are ignorant for not agreeing with her. Those are all things people throw at others to shut them up (stop whining, stop crying, you're just stupid), which rather goes against the central theme of the black fish wanting the freedom to speak her mind and achieve her dreams. It's a selective freedom for her, and people who think like her.

It's also a rather simplified metaphor when it comes to the poor. A lot of people aren't caught swimming in circles because they don't believe there's anything else, but because they can't escape their circumstances. There isn't an opening in the stream for them to swim down. Or if there is one, they're not able to fit through it. This is implied with the lizard, as he offers support for the fish without going himself, but it's not directly stated.

For an older child or adult, the story can be considered in the context of when and where the original was written. For a younger child, that's going to be a bit over their heads.

I think this would be a great book for any fans of the original, as well as people new to the story. The comic adaptation does add something extra. But it is very much a story where knowing the context is important, as some of the morals of the tale are a little uncomfortable in a modern context. I'm all for telling people to strive for their dreams and to be inspired by others, but not so much that it's bad to complain or cry when something's hurting you.

Amazing. Loved the use of color, and style, which the cover doesn't reflect, which is more the pity. If just one of those gorgeous interior pages had been used as the cover, this book would draw everyone in.

Little Black Fish is one of the most well known modern Persian children's story, and now in my opinion is one of the best children's stories that has ever been turned into a graphic novel I really enjoyed this book, the beautifully drawn pictures and the incredible story simply put. this was just amazing to say the least.

The Little Black Fish is a wonderful story with two morals, at least that's how i see this book. First it shows what can happen if you decide you want to change your life, explore and the consequence of that decision. The second and true moral is go out and discover the world around you, Find out things, but if you can leave a legacy by helping others and yourself along the way you become almost a legend and inspire others to follow in your legacy and and become legends as well.