[Monday Reading] Stories Featuring a Frog Queen, a Little Black Fish, and a Mermaid

Fats here.

It’s Monday, What are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers (new host of Monday reading: Kathryn T at Book Date). Since two of our friends, Linda from Teacher Dance and Tara from A Teaching Life have been joining this meme for quite awhile now, we thought of joining this warm and inviting community.

I am in not making good progress with my reading during this quarantine. However, I would like to share these three picture books with you this week. Happy reading!

The Queen of the Frogs

Written by Davide Cali
Illustrated by Marco Soma
Translated by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (2017)
ISBN-13: 9780802854810

One summer evening, while the frogs were singing, something fell into the water. It was shiny and it looked like a crown. One of the frogs knew exactly where the thing landed. She grabbed it and put it on her head. When the other frogs saw her, they referred to her as the queen of the frogs. But what exactly does a queen do? Well, she was about to find out…

I enjoyed the story and illustrations in this book. It has a nice twist (or two!) in the end! This would be a good pick for a bedtime story.

Find it on Amazon | Book Depository

#ReadIntl2020 (Italy)

The Little Black Fish

Written by Samad Behrangi
Illustrated by Farshid Mesghali
Translated by Azita Rassi
Published by Tiny Owl (2015)
ISBN-13: 9781910328002

Originally published in 1968, The Little Black Fish tells the story of a curious little fish who wonders what is beyond the stream. Little Black Fish decides to leave his home and explores the world beyond. In his journey, he meets other creatures and learns about the river and the sea.

This is book is highly rated on Goodreads, with an average rating of 4.15 stars from over 11,000 reviews. While I like the theme and illustrations, I did not enjoy the storytelling. Lost in translation, perhaps? The text is longer than your typical picture book and adopts a more mature narrative tone. If you haven’t read this book yet, check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Find it on Amazon | Book Depository

#ReadIntl2020 (Iran)

The Mermaid in the Bathtub

Written by Nurit Zarchi
Illustrated by Rutu Modan
Translated by Tal Goldfajn
Published by Yonder (2019, translated edition)
ISBN-13: 9781632062116

This is the story of a man named Mr. Whatwilltheysay and the mermaid in his house. When Mr. Whatwilltheysay finds a mermaid sitting on his favorite armchair, he walked out of the house and into the streets. When he comes home, Mr. Whatwilltheysay still finds the mermaid on the chair, and his living room furniture floating in water. Mr. Whatwilltheysay does not want to know what his neighbors will say when they find out about the mermaid. Will the mermaid ever leave?

It was noted on the back cover that this was a retelling of The Little Mermaid, with vibrant retro illustrations by Modan. I find the story so surreal that I still don’t know how I feel about the book.

Find it on Amazon | Book Depository

#ReadIntl2020 (Israel)

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