Little Black Fish is not like the other fish in the stream. He is desperate to see what lies beyond his world.

This is a longer-style picture book for children aged 5 and over, narrated by a grandmother fish to a large shoal of younger fish. Little Black Fish is among them. He lives in a section of stream between two waterfalls with many other fish that spend their time swimming around. Little Black Fish isn’t satisfied with the routine existence and longs to head out and explore the wider world. When he mentions this, he comes up against fierce opposition from the other fish, including his mother.

Head off into the unknown he does, and a whole new world opens up to him. He is surprised by a crab scuttling sideways; he hears quail birds laughing and breathes in the smells of mountain herbs. In one magical scene, he even talks to the moon. Little Black Fish also discovers that dangers lurk around every bend in the stream. He meets a doe that has been shot by a hunter; he is attacked by a swordfish and captured by a seabird.

Little Black Fish grows through his adventures and thirst for new knowledge—and not just in size and strength. He demonstrates many positive qualities, including intelligence, courage, determination and empathy (for which he makes the ultimate sacrifice).

There are large blocks of text and illustrations on every page. The illustrations are big and bold with a rustic block print feel. Farshid Mesghali uses a limited palette, combining great swathes of textured background color with stylized waves, black patterned fish and other creatures, and pops of red.

Little Black Fish is an inspiring story about daring to be different and having the intelligence and courage to follow thought with action. It is also an invitation to experience the wonders and dangers of the wider world. It has a particularly poignant significance for those living in societies where venturing outside the status quo is a hazardous undertaking.

Little Black Fish
Written by Samad Behrangi
Illustrated by Farshid Mesghali
Translated from Persian by Azita Rassi
Tiny Owl Publishing, 2017

ISBN: 978 19103 2900 2

This is a lightly edited version of a review that was first published in October 2017 on my (discontinued) blog Planet Picture Book.

Reviews: Kirkus, Seven Impossible Things

You can buy a copy Little Black Fish here or find it in a library, here.*

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Laura Taylor previously posted at Planet Picture Book, a world children’s literature blog she founded in 2017. She is a small business copywriter, NAATI-certified translator of French into English and member of AUSIT. When she is not writing, she is reading and spending time with her two young children. She occasionally tweets @plapibo