The Little Black Fish

The Little Black Fish (Persian: ماهی سیاه کوچولو‎‎) is a well known children's book written by Samad Behrangi. The book was widely considered to be a political allegory, and was banned in pre-revolutionary Iran (prior to the 1978 revolution).^[1] Other than noticeable story, the original illustrations of the book by Farshid Mesghali in 1974 got Hans Christian Andersen Award for children books.^[2] Various translations of the book in different languages has been published in different countries. The latest translation of the book in English published in 2015 with its original illustrations.^[3]

Plot

The story is told through the voice of an old fish speaking to her 12,000 children and grandchildren. She describes the journey of a small black fish who leaves the safety of the local stream to venture into the world.

The path of the little fish leads down a waterfall and along the length of the river to the sea. Along the way the fish meets several interesting characters, including a helpful lizard and the dreaded pelican.

With both wisdom and courage, the fish travels far indeed, and the tale ends with the little black fish as an example for others.

Translations

• The Little Black Fish. Classics of Persian Literature. 2. Translated by Amuzegar, Hooshang. Illustrated by Allison Remick. Ibex Publishers. 1997. ISBN 9780936347783. OCLC 35808282.
• The Little Black Fish. Art and design by Bizhan Khodabandeh. 2011. ISBN 9780615666075. OCLC 855482613.
• The Little Black Fish. Translated by Rassi, Azita. Illustrated by Farshid Mesghali. Tiny Owl Publishing. 2015. ISBN 9781910328002. OCLC 902745489.
• Crna ribica [Black Fish] (in Croatian). Znanje Publishing. 2016.^[4]
• Mahîe Sîe Büçkełanege (in Kirmaşanî Kurdish). Translated by Muhamadreza Bahadur. 2015.^[5]

Reviews

• In April 2015, the new translation of The Little Black Fish by Tiny Owl with its award winning original illustrations got first in David Cadji Newby's top 10 children's books list for The Guardian.^[6]

Awards

• Hans Christian Andersen award for illustrations by Farshid Mesghali (1974)
• First Graphic Prize, Sixth International Children Books’ Fair in Bologna for illustrations by Farshid Mesghali (1968)
• Honorary Diploma, Bratislava Biannual, Czechoslovakia, for illustrations by Farshid Mesghali (1968)

References

1. "The Little Black Fish That Created Big Waves", Negar Esfandiary, BBC Radio 4, 25 August 2011
2. "HCAA Winners 1956-2014".
4. "Crna ribica". Znanje d.o.o. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
5. Bahadur, Muhamadreza (2015). Mahîe Sîe Büçkełanege.
6. "David Cadji Newby's top 10 quests in children's books", David Cadji-Newby 2 April 2015