The Little Black Fish Explained

The Little Black Fish (Persian: ماهی سیاه کوچولو, ) is a well known Persian language^{[1] [2]} 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 1979 revolution).^[3] Other than its notable story, the original illustrations of the book by Farshid Mesghali received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1974 for his "lasting contributions" as a children's illustrator.^[4] Various translations of the book have been published in multiple countries.

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 and the tale eventually ends with the Little Black Fish setting a lasting example for others.

Translations

• Book: Behrangi . Samad . 0 . 1997 . The Little Black Fish . Ibex Publishers . 9780936347783 . 35808282 . Amuzegar . Hooshang . Classics of Persian Literature . 2 . Illustrated by Allison Remick.
• Book: Behrangi . Samad . 0 . 2011 . The Little Black Fish . Art and design by Bizhan Khodabandeh . 9780615666075 . 855482613.
• Book: Behrangi . Samad . 0 . 2015 . The Little Black Fish . Illustrated by Farshid Mesghali . Tiny Owl Publishing . 9781910328002 . 902745489 . Rassi . Azita.

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.^[5]

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 (1969)^[6]
• Honorary Diploma, Bratislava Biannual, Czechoslovakia, for illustrations by Farshid Mesghali (1968)

Notes and References

1. Bassiri . Kaveh . Whatever Happened to The Little Black Fish? . Iranian Studies . 2018 . 51 . 5 . 699. 10.1080/00210862.2018.1480358 . 165186023 . When comparing word counts, all translations of The Little Black Fish are longer than the original Persian, possibly because they have to explain the cultural-specific idioms, or because Persian uses fewer words and its syntax is more flexible..
2. Book: Rundle . Christopher . The Routledge Handbook of Translation History . 2022 . Routledge . 339 . (...) the classic Persian children's story The Little Black Fish by Samad Behrangi (...).
3. "The Little Black Fish That Created Big Waves", Negar Esfandiary, BBC Radio 4, 25 August 2011
4. Web site: HCAA Winners 1956-2014. 2015-05-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20150524003321/http://www.ibby.org/308.0.html. 2015-05-24. dead.
5. https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/apr/02/david-cadji-newbys-top-10-quests-in-childrens-books "David Cadji Newby's top 10 quests in children's books"
6. https://www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/ragazzi/tutti/proposte-di-lettura/bibliography/bcbf-award-1969/ Bologna Children's Book Fair 1969.