The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

What you need

• A copy of the story (or if you don’t have a copy handy, you can find the story on YouTube!) Some foil
• Coloured paper Pencils/markers/crayons
• Anything colourful or sparkly available to recreate the rainbow fish or rainbow animals.

Benefits

This book can be used to spark a meaningful discussion about the benefits of sharing. Children can see the point of view of the other fish who admire the rainbow fish's sparkling scales. They can also watch the rainbow fish struggle with a difficult choice and then respond with generosity.

The experience

Sit back and listen to the wonderful story of ‘The Rainbow Fish’. Why not ask your child some questions or introduce some role play and art-making after listening to the story?

Roleplay inspiration: at one point in the story, the Rainbow Fish becomes the 'loneliest fish in the entire ocean'. Try a role-play activity to interview him and find out how he is feeling. Can you suggest things that he could do to find some friends?

Art-making inspiration: the Rainbow Fish's scales are 'every shade of blue, green and purple'. Can you try mixing paint to make lots of different shades of these colours?

• Decorate your own Rainbow Fish image using collage (or other media). Can you find foil and other sparkly materials to make your picture sparkle?
• Draw your own underwater scene, using the sea photos for inspiration?
• Make your own 'rainbow' animal. Could you create a Rainbow Bird, a Rainbow Butterfly or a Rainbow Chameleon?