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The Magic Fish
A greedy fisherman's wife is granted every wish but can't find happiness.
46 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
12 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
Freya Littledale
43 books7 followersFreya Littledale (1929 - 1992) was a children's book author, adapter, and editor. Most of her works were retold fairytales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
April 12, 2021
I remember this was my first storybook as a child. My grandmother gave it to me. The story is simple yet is filled with great lessons. Greed, in general, results to no good.
November 20, 2013
I'd completely forgotten about this book until I just saw it on someone's blog. The cover image immediately brought back memories. I hope the blogger doesn't mind me linking to Ed Arno's awesome illustrations:
It makes you weep to compare these to some of the utter shit appearing today.
October 21, 2011
My family and I used to listen to this book on audio cassette growing up. The voices used in that recording were amazing! And the tale is retold in our family time and time again. Perhaps this is why this story is endearing to me. Not to mention the moral lessons from a simple fisherman trying to please his greedy wife and both of them learning that the simple things are what bring us the most pleasure - not riches or fancy homes.
April 4, 2016
One of my childhood favourites.
January 15, 2024
I’ve read this short story so many times and it’s so great
March 28, 2018
I've always enjoyed The Magic Fish. It was a gift given to me on my 7th birthday, years and years ago. I've held onto it all this time, and have read it multiple times growing up. And still the story is just as good today as it was back when I first read it. The Magic Fish is a simple story, geared for the minds of children, but a complex story that can be pertinent for adults. It's a story about a fisherman who finds a magic fish at sea, and how the magic the fish provides becomes enticing to the fisherman's ungrateful wife, who wants more and more and more. The magic of the fish is an easy way out of hardship for the fisherman and his wife. But the demands of the ungrateful wife must come to an end. I recommend reading The Magic Fish.
September 6, 2011
Very imaganative book. Good illustrations with meaning behind the story, where alot of books dont. A book that relates to human greed and how this demise can and will hurt people in the end. The story is about a grumpy old fisherman and his even grumpier and greedy wife. long story short, the man catches a fish and releases it, after findindg out the fish is a prince and returning home with no fish, the mans wife demands numerous things from the fish the wife eventually asks for too much and the fish takes all what he has given her back. Meanwhile the fisherman who didnt ask for a thing is quite happy with the fish taking everything back. good moralistic story for children.
December 27, 2015
A favorite retelling of this story
February 11, 2023
I've always been a sucker for folk fairy tales. The Magic Fish (1966) by Freya Littledale, with new illustrations by Winslow Pinney Pels (who illustrated my favorite version of Stone Soup) from 1988, is about a fisherman who catches a fish who claims he's a prince and asks for his freedom. The fisherman does so, but when he returns home to his wife she demands he go back and makes a wish if the fish is really magical. The wishes are all for the wife, who is vain and selfish, and with each wish, she grows vainer and more selfish. The ending is kind of weak in my opinion but teaches a valuable lesson about greed. Pels illustrations are what got me, being very unique. I'm hoping to find more illustrations by them. All in all, not a bad tale, just a weak ending which is too bad, but still worth the read. My rating - 3/5
June 12, 2022
Genre: Folk tale
Grade Level: Upper Elementary (2-3)
This was a retelling of the classic folktale about a fisherman, his greedy wife, and a magic fish. The fisherman catches the magic fish and throws him back because he said he was a prince. However, his wife kept telling him to go back and ask for luxurious things. I think this book teaches children a very valuable lesson about greed - you will never be satisfied. Sometimes the simple things are what can bring us the most happiness. Overall, I would give this book 4 stars.
Grade Level: Upper Elementary (2-3)
This was a retelling of the classic folktale about a fisherman, his greedy wife, and a magic fish. The fisherman catches the magic fish and throws him back because he said he was a prince. However, his wife kept telling him to go back and ask for luxurious things. I think this book teaches children a very valuable lesson about greed - you will never be satisfied. Sometimes the simple things are what can bring us the most happiness. Overall, I would give this book 4 stars.
December 18, 2023
No setting specified. 46 pp. I love the illustrations in the book! Read online at https://archive.org/details/magicfish...
The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale
The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale
July 11, 2022
I thought the telling of this story was rather bland, but perhaps children in early elementary grades would enjoy the simple repetition. The message about greed is a good one, and Winslow Pinney Pels' illustrations are marvelous. I guess I just wanted the telling of the story to have a bit of charm and humor to go along with the magic.
October 18, 2017
This book was full of magic and happiness. It also shows greed, the fisherman's wife constantly wants something and is never satisfied.
February 13, 2018
A favorite tale.
July 5, 2018
Sometimes being greedy gets you more than you bargained for.
June 23, 2019
Wonderful story about not being greedy.
July 17, 2019
#cbad 2018-2019 - 5th grade SCA - 9/14/18 - average rating 4.0
October 3, 2019
Beautifully illustrated story about a magic fish and greed.
February 20, 2020
Love this book! Great moral to the story and fun to read!
November 6, 2020
A good one time read, a folktale.
April 13, 2021
Great story to be read to a small child.
September 6, 2021
A classic children's tale! Decent illustrations.
Read with my 6yo for B&R-1
Read with my 6yo for B&R-1
September 11, 2024
Really fun telling of The Fisherman and His Wife with fun illustrations!
Read
May 11, 2016• Interest Level: Lower Grades
• Reading Level: 2.2
• Guided Reading Level: L
• Genre: Traditional literature
• Support for the genre: This story could be considered a fairy tale due to magic and that evil is punished. It is also similar to a fable because it is teaching a lesson of being greedy.
• Additional Genres: Picture Books
Summary:
A man is out fishing and catches a magic prince fish. He let’s the prince go because he tells him to. His wife keeps making him go back to the fish to wish for more and more, first a house then a castle. The man begrudgingly keeps going back to the fish, until the fish decides the man’s wife is being too greedy and changes everything back the way it was.
Mentor Writing Traits:
Ideas:
This story has a very clear character of the magic fish, presented in the title, to entice readers.
Voice:
The voice is very neutral.
Sentence Fluency:
The sentences flow easily and have a traditional structure.
Presentation:
Some of imagery spills over and interrupts the texts boxes in a playful way.
Classroom Integration and other suggestions:
This book brings awareness to how bossy and greedy some people are. This book could be read when discussing assertiveness or other social emotional aspects with students. Students could create their own story about a time someone kept telling them what to do even though they knew better. Students could also choose a classic fable ending for the bossy character.
• Reading Level: 2.2
• Guided Reading Level: L
• Genre: Traditional literature
• Support for the genre: This story could be considered a fairy tale due to magic and that evil is punished. It is also similar to a fable because it is teaching a lesson of being greedy.
• Additional Genres: Picture Books
Summary:
A man is out fishing and catches a magic prince fish. He let’s the prince go because he tells him to. His wife keeps making him go back to the fish to wish for more and more, first a house then a castle. The man begrudgingly keeps going back to the fish, until the fish decides the man’s wife is being too greedy and changes everything back the way it was.
Mentor Writing Traits:
Ideas:
This story has a very clear character of the magic fish, presented in the title, to entice readers.
Voice:
The voice is very neutral.
Sentence Fluency:
The sentences flow easily and have a traditional structure.
Presentation:
Some of imagery spills over and interrupts the texts boxes in a playful way.
Classroom Integration and other suggestions:
This book brings awareness to how bossy and greedy some people are. This book could be read when discussing assertiveness or other social emotional aspects with students. Students could create their own story about a time someone kept telling them what to do even though they knew better. Students could also choose a classic fable ending for the bossy character.
August 28, 2014
This is a fun folk tale that I read to a second grade class as a read aloud. The repetitive nature of some of the dialogue helps the students make predictions about what will happen coming up. Also, the message is clear in the book (be grateful for what you have).
The Magic Fish is a story of a fisherman who caught a fish and put him back because the fish claimed to be a magic, prince fish. He was a kindhearted man. After hearing this, the fisherman's wife was mad and demanded that the fisherman return to the fish and ask a favor. The fish gave into the request as the fisherman returned home no a nice house rather than his little hut. The wife is only happy for a week.. She then requests a castle, which she is grateful for only two weeks. This continues until she demands to be not only the queen of her land, but the queen of the sun, moon, and stars. Being so ungrateful, the fish yelled, NO, when the fisherman made this final request and the wife lost everything else. Mind you that the fisherman was happy with whatever he had from the hut to the queen of the land in the castle.
In the images, the sea is stormier, as the fish become more upset with the requests. This enhances the lesson of the story and the emotions that the fish is holing back.
The Magic Fish is a story of a fisherman who caught a fish and put him back because the fish claimed to be a magic, prince fish. He was a kindhearted man. After hearing this, the fisherman's wife was mad and demanded that the fisherman return to the fish and ask a favor. The fish gave into the request as the fisherman returned home no a nice house rather than his little hut. The wife is only happy for a week.. She then requests a castle, which she is grateful for only two weeks. This continues until she demands to be not only the queen of her land, but the queen of the sun, moon, and stars. Being so ungrateful, the fish yelled, NO, when the fisherman made this final request and the wife lost everything else. Mind you that the fisherman was happy with whatever he had from the hut to the queen of the land in the castle.
In the images, the sea is stormier, as the fish become more upset with the requests. This enhances the lesson of the story and the emotions that the fish is holing back.
March 17, 2013
Our youngest brought home the book The Fisherman and His Wife by Pauline Cartwright this year from her second-grade class. So when we saw this version of the classic story by Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm and Wilhelm Karl Grimm, we thought it would be fun to compare the different books.
The narrative is short, perfect for beginning readers and the repetition helps to foster reading ability, comprehension, and confidence. The illustrations are colorful and complement the story nicely; we especially liked the details of the house and the woman's outfits as her wishes were granted. Both stories were entertaining, and I think we liked this retelling just a little more. We enjoyed reading this book together.
The narrative is short, perfect for beginning readers and the repetition helps to foster reading ability, comprehension, and confidence. The illustrations are colorful and complement the story nicely; we especially liked the details of the house and the woman's outfits as her wishes were granted. Both stories were entertaining, and I think we liked this retelling just a little more. We enjoyed reading this book together.
April 1, 2016
FOLKTALE #1 – “The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale
Motif: A fish grants wishes
This version a classic folktale “The Fisherman and his Wife” follows an old fisherman who lives in a hut with a demanding wife. He caught a huge gold fish but returned it to the sea when it proclaimed to actually be a magic fish, and more so a prince. The fisherman’s wife greedily demanded that her reluctant husband return to the magic fish so it can grant her wishes of a finer house, escalating in demand to a castle, and to be queen. Upon her last wish, the gold fish had had enough and takes it all away.
The plot is a good example of the consequences of increased greed. The text is repetitive in its phrasing and short in length, which is helpful to a young reader. The pictures are soft and detailed lending themselves to further discussions.
Target audience: Ages 5 - 8
Motif: A fish grants wishes
This version a classic folktale “The Fisherman and his Wife” follows an old fisherman who lives in a hut with a demanding wife. He caught a huge gold fish but returned it to the sea when it proclaimed to actually be a magic fish, and more so a prince. The fisherman’s wife greedily demanded that her reluctant husband return to the magic fish so it can grant her wishes of a finer house, escalating in demand to a castle, and to be queen. Upon her last wish, the gold fish had had enough and takes it all away.
The plot is a good example of the consequences of increased greed. The text is repetitive in its phrasing and short in length, which is helpful to a young reader. The pictures are soft and detailed lending themselves to further discussions.
Target audience: Ages 5 - 8
Read
December 21, 2014The Magic Fish is a variation of The Fisherman and His Wife. The story is about a fisherman who catches a magic fish and can grant the fisherman wishes. The fisherman tell his wife about the fish and she makes a request for a bigger house, a castle, to be queen. Each time the fisherman comes home, the wife is unsatisfied and wants more and more until the fish denies her request and the wife is living in her old house with her old lifestyle.
I would use this book to discuss greed and making the best of your current situation. Always wanting more will never make one happy.
The story line and moral to this story is appropriate for any age. According to Scholastic book wizard the grade level equivalent is 2.9.
I would use this book to discuss greed and making the best of your current situation. Always wanting more will never make one happy.
The story line and moral to this story is appropriate for any age. According to Scholastic book wizard the grade level equivalent is 2.9.
March 29, 2013
The Magic Fish is a traditional folk tale for children ages four to eight. It tells the story of a simple fisherman and his greedy wife. He catches a magic fish and his wife makes him demand more and more things from the fish. Eventually the fish takes back everything he has given her. I think this book is a good representation of the greed that dominates areas of our society. Children should be taught that what they have is all they need. I especially enjoyed the illustrations the color usage perfectly captured the mood.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews