Capturing a child’s imagination
View(s):The moment I took Sashi’s book in my hand, read its title “Welcome Home Little Fish” and saw the pictures of a fish and a frog, I thought to myself that this would be a story between two watery friends- a fish and a frog. Because I read the back page first, I thought what could these two creatures- a fish and a frog- be talking about. Then I saw the smaller letters which stated “Tale of the Salmon Fish”. My mind went back to a visit I made to Scotland to spend a few days with Sashi’s family. Sashi’s husband Mahinda took me to a small rivulet in Aberdeenshire and showed me how hundreds of salmon were swimming upstream making their way to their final resting place to lay eggs and die.
For me this is a sad story which would make a child very sad indeed. I wondered how this common place knowledge for children in Scotland would be turned into a story that can hold a child’s attention.
What are the things that would capture the imagination and attention of a child of 6-9 years in reading a story book? First, children are mostly attracted to their environment as they explore the world just like a fish or a butterfly or a bird.
In fact butterflies, birds and fish are the things which children are attracted to in any country. We often see children running after butterflies whenever they find the opportunity. However the attraction of children towards fish is not so apparent because the fish are not in the environment of every child. Nevertheless children are attracted to fish tanks and the vivid colours of the fish.
Children more than anyone else love adventure. The common place incident of salmon which hatch upstream and make a long journey to the deep sea is seen as an adventure made by this small fish “Fin” We all know as many as half of the small salmon become the prey of big fish even before they reach the sea and the balance lose their lives on their way back to the breeding grounds upstream. This is where the author manages to catch the imagination of children by presenting the story as an adventure bringing in two friends of the fish – the frog and the beautiful little fairy, making the little fish “Fin” a hero.
The author’s talent as a story teller for children is clearly seen. She has avoided the sad part of the true story- the death of some fish after the long journey upstream.
The book is full of very attractive pictures, starting with a laughing fish and a laughing frog on the front page. Inside one can enter the world of fish through the pictures. On the way home, attack by polar bears and falling down from rocky waterfalls are all dangers the small fish had to face. Overcoming all this, “Fin” reaches his native place and it is of course “a Welcome Home,” even though the author suppresses the sad truth in the end.
Even though the story is set in the far north of the United Kingdom, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, it will appeal to children anywhere in the world. The key message is of course a great one for anyone, i.e. that wherever you go and have your adventure, come back home to your native place and rest. This perhaps is the universal message that Sashi has given to children which is equally applicable to adults as well.
I am sure, apart from her training in education and teaching, the book reveals a great genetic predisposition in Sashi Samaraweera in the art of writing children’s story books.
(The reviewer is a former Vice Chancellor of the Colombo University)
| Book facts
Welcome Home Little Fish |