The standard Russian tale, presented in nicely colourful fashion, of the fisherman who catches a wish-granting fish. Unfortunately for him all he thinks to do is get it to honour his wife's demands, as he himself doesn't believe sparing the fish's life merits the right to beg wishes of it. A glossary and discussion at the end let us know why the couple lived on the waterfront 33 years up to this point, what a Boyard is and more – but also alerts us to the fact the end has been somewhat changed. It's not a huge alteration, but there is probably much less in the way of valuable comeuppance for the crabby wife, and to pretend as a result that this is brought "into closer alignment with the sentimental conventions of modern tales" is probably disputable, and not really helpful. The bulk of modern young readers would want her to get what she deserved. They of course, all sweetness and light, would want the watercolour artworks here, that deftly show the changes in the couple's circumstances and living arrangements. It's certainly an attractive presentation, but that needless shift in tone to close? Three and a half stars.

This book contains lovely colorful illustrations to accompany its retelling of a Russian folktale. Originally written by Alexander Pushkin, the book relates the story of a miraculous golden fish that grants wishes to a fisherman in exchange for being returned to the ocean. As the wife of the fisherman becomes more insistent and mean in her continuing requests, the ocean reflects the mood of the golden fish. Themes of this picture book include kindness as well as greed and the consequences of each of these. This is a story to be reread and enjoyed by families together.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed here are my own.

The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish was originally written by Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) a Russian poet, novelist and playwright. This wonderful retelling by Lucy Bozzi, has a slightly modified ending, although retains its rich literary language, lyrical narrative and important moral lessons, for young or old.

The beautiful hand-painted watercolor illustrations by Ilya Tolochka bring this delightful tale to life, with so much attention-to-detail evident on each page.

There are so many additional learning opportunities in this delightful book, including the short biography of Alexander Pushkin, translation notes and glossary with cultural context provided. This book would make a lovely keepsake for family read-aloud time, or it would also work brilliantly in a classroom setting.

Many thanks BooksGoSocial for the digital review copy for review consideration, via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I am looking forward to further retellings or reimagining of classic tales by Lucy Bozzi, as well as further illustrated work by Ilya Tolochka.

A retelling of a well known story, that shares what can happen when one becomes too greedy and takes advantage of those around us.

Beautiful illustrations and a lovely keepsake of a book.

Thank-you Books Go Social, NetGalley and Lucy Bozzi for this Digital Advanced Readers Copy, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a story that I had heard of, but hadn't read before.

The book has really important messaging and sadly there are a lot of people like the Fisherman's wife in the real world - I know as an adult I have encountered a fair few.

I am not sure what the ending for the book should have been, but note in the description that the ending has been changed does make me wonder as I felt that this ended slightly abruptly.

I thought that the illustrations in the book were wonderful, they really suited the story and worked well to bring the story to life.

It is 4.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon - highly recommended!

This is an amazing story with moral on how one should not a greedy one. What we get the chance to acquired by God's wish, we must adhere with it and enjoy the situation with that only. We must know for how to count our wealth suffice against what we do not have. This is story is the retelling of the famous Story by a Russian Poet and writer Alexander Pushkin. The original story of Pushkin was inspired from the ancient folklore of 'Somavati' from Kathasaritsagar in India. Also, there is a Story which I have heard since my childhood on one traditional reverence every year in which a greedy women who heard that god had gifted gold to her neighbor expected same and made her whole house painted in poop.
Overall, this is a good inspiration picture book on our basis human trait that we must not be greedy and keep our demands in check when we are getting any miraculous gift and should not take that for granted. Respecting the god's blessing.

A beautiful retelling of a classic Russian work. I enjoyed the wide range of vocabulary as well as the story itself.

My children really appreciated the illustrations. The characters were portrayed with much emotion which lead to conversation about emotions & how we can sometimes read feelings from facial expressions. This book also lead into conversation about blindy following human instruction without any thought for ourselves. Both valuable conversations spurred from this reading.

I loved the extra detailing on the corners and pages. It added an extra touch making this copy (even in digital format) feel more special.

The book also includes a history of the tale and a biography of the author. The end contains a glossary defining some of the lesser known traditional words and includes some fun facts. My children and I both really enjoyed the extra details and information we gleaned from these sections.

I will be on the lookout for futre releases fo classics from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in echange for an honest review.

I don't believe I ever heard this story before. It touched me quite a bit since I know people like this greedy old woman in the story. People who are never satisfied and don't appreciate what they have. I also know people like the old man who appreciate everything they have and unfortunately are in a situation where they must deal with greedy, nasty people. It just shows that times don't change, only years do.

I was attracted to this book for the story, but mainly because I am learning to do watercolor and have read a book illustrated by Ilya Tolochka in the past and wanted to see what they created for the story. The watercolor paintings are absolutely beautiful! I hope one day I can achieve even a small portion of the talent of this artist.

The story paired with the paintings, makes it so much more enjoyable and profound. The reader can see all the emotions in the old man and the old woman in the pictures. If no words were given, and it was just a picture book, I think the story would unfold perfectly.

Thanks to NetGalley, Nuclear Family Publishing and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this inspirational story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a story I’ve read to my kids before, but this was a longer version. To be fair, it just feels long no matter what. My 3yo loved the pretty fish. It’s just not my favorite fairy tale, but I enjoyed the historical background included in the beginning.

I remember when I was in first grade, my teacher was a very good storyteller and she used to tell us mythes and legends. This story, The tale of the fisherman and the fish was one of them.

I really enjoyed the colour of gold for the fish to stand out more in the illustrations.

I was delighted to learn that Lucy Bozzi and illustrator Ilya Tolochka had collaborated on another book.

Taking their inspiration from a classic Russian fairy tale by the poet, Alexander Pushkin this is a new modern new translation of his work. Retold with clarity for contemporary children while keeping faith with the original piece. The stunning hand-painted illustrations are exquisite and complement the fresh sounding text.

I love the extra care given to this treasured work of art and the enhancements made. The additional time set aside to bring out educational elements means this story will work well in the classroom as much as within the home.

I enjoyed learning about the original author in his potted biography and the explanations around poetic language and Russian traditions and cultural heritage.

A joy from start to finish that will bring forward new ideas and nuances on each reading.