Rainbow Fish A,B,C

by Marcus Pfister

Everyone's favorite fish invites youngsters along with him on a glittering undersea lesson in the alphabet. Rainbow Fish swims along the ocean floor-over, under, around, and through bright, bold letters-offering children a colorful and entertaining introduction to the basic building blocks of learning.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, German Literature

20 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Marcus Pfister was born in Berne, Switzerland, and began his career as a graphic artist in an advertising agency. In 1983, he decided to dedicate more time to artistic pursuits, and began to write and illustrate his first book, The Sleepy Owl, which was published in 1986. His best-known work to date is The Rainbow Fish, which has remained on bestseller lists across the United States since 1992.

Marcus does most of his illustrations for children's books in watercolors. He begins each book by stretching watercolor paper over a wooden board so that it won't warp when wet. He then copies his rough sketches onto the paper in pencil. At this point, he is ready to begin painting. For backgrounds and blended contours, he uses wet paint on wet paper to get a softer effect. For sharper details, he first lets the paper dry, then paints the final picture layer by layer. When the illustration is complete he cuts the paper from the wooden board.

For books that feature holographic foil stamping, he then tapes a piece of transparent film over the art and indicates with a black marker where the foil stamping should be. The foil stamping is then applied during the production process after the pages are printed and before the final binding.

Marcus and his wife, Kathryn, work together in Berne, where they live with their three children.

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Rainbow Fish A,B,C
Author: Marcus Pfister
Genre: ABC Book
Theme: Alphabet, Ocean
Opening Line/sentence: Come for a swim in the deep blue sea, and learn the alphabet with me!
Brief Book Summary: With lines on the first and last pages, the rest of the book is the rainbow fishing swimming through the ocean through the letters of the alphabet.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Publisher’s Weekly
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rain...
Fans of Marcus Pfister's Rainbow Fish will welcome Rainbow Fish A,B,C, in which the fellow invites youngsters to his underwater school: "Come for a swim in the deep blue sea,/ and learn the alphabet with me!" Throughout, large alphabet letters float across otherwise wordless spreads, in order, until youngsters reach Z: "Now you've learned your ABCs./ You're as clever as can be." Rainbow Fish 1,2,3 encourages more interaction, as the hero asks children to count his different colored scales ("How many yellow scales does Rainbow Fish have?") and various sea creatures on each page. 
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
School Library Journal
https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess....
PreS-K-A, B, C is comprised of three sentences. The opening page reads, "Come for a swim in the deep blue sea,/and learn the alphabet with me!" Pictures of the letters against an ocean bottom background follow, and the book concludes with, "Now you've learned your ABCs./You're as clever as can be!" The lack of content is disappointing, but the watercolor-and-ink illustrations are pleasant. Done primarily in shades of blue and violet, the pictures portray silvery Rainbow Fish swimming past as different sea creatures hold up letters. For example, an octopus holds the F and G while a sea snail supports the L. This title has little to recommend it beyond its familiar, appealing artwork. In 1, 2, 3, readers are invited to count the different colors on Rainbow Fish's scales, e.g., 3 red, 6 purple, etc. There is a "subplot" on each page as well: "Can you count three purple sea urchins, too?... Can you count six green leaves, too?" This selection will work better than A, B, C in a storytime setting; it offers more opportunities for interaction, and the concept is better developed. The illustrations are similar to those in the companion volume, with a glittering Rainbow Fish swimming around the ocean floor.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree that while the content is very simple, the book is illustrated and colored beautifully, and the colors and sparkles in the scales are very engaging to the reader.
Evaluation of Literacy Elements: The book only contains three sentences and the alphabet, but the illustrations and surrounding imagery in the book are detailed and maintain the student’s attention.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book could be used in a story time/circle setting. It could also be a book that the child may read to themselves, as it is a basic and fundamental concept that can be conveyed to the child.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointless

[Lara Bate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about learning the alphabet.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

a simple toddler and up book where rainbow fish sings the abc song.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister has been a popular book because of it's illustrations and story. Rainbow Fish A,B,C is a book that peaks the interest of younger students because they remember the earlier book. This book would help a kindergartener that is learning the uppercase letters of the alphabet. The pictures and letters would encourage students to enjoy books while learning letter recognition.

[Terry]

Borrow it, and plan to borrow it again at different stages.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

learning your a b c

[Courtney K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this one. Just an ABC book...

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This worked great in our library BABY TIME program.

[Lolo Onda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple for ABC practice for young readers!