I find it interesting how readers feel they can interpret an author’s meaning and  give long discourses on why an author wrote a short story, novel or a poem.  Unless you have an explanation written by the author or an interview in which he/she discusses the meaning of his work, how do we know?
Sometimes if we have knowledge of social, political or cultural conditions surrounding the author’s life, we have a better idea of meanings in the writing.  However, unless we’ve heard directly from the author, do we know for sure?
Of all the books discussed here, Rainbow Fish, written and illustrated by Marcus …read more

My kids’ tastes ebb and flow more quickly than the tides. Katie, in particular, will practically be so attached to a book for a few days that my husband and I worry that it will have to be surgically removed from her hands. She will even sleep with her favorites under her pillow, just in case.
About a year ago, she was fixated on Swiss author’s Marcus Pfister’s Rainbow Fish (oder Regenbogenfisch auf deutsch). The book was loved a little too much to death and was subsequently replaced with a German version that my husband picked up on …read more