“Rainbow Fish” and How it Brought Color to my Life
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
"Librarians Save Lives by handing the right book at the right time, to a kid in need"
--Judy Blume
Today I want to share with everyone a very special, near-and-dear book to my heart and how it shaped by life.
Pictured: 2nd grade, 8 years old, with the teacher who transformed my life and opened up a world of imagination. Mrs. Hurst
1995. San Diego. February 8th.
Story Time:
It was a dark, rainy morning, and I wore a white crinoline dress. The tulle was way too itchy, and my mother insisted I wear a turtleneck sweater under an already uncomfortable dress. But despite it all, I was so excited. It was my 8th birthday after all.
A cornerstone, if you will. We went down to the park and set up the piñata. My mother worked really hard to make it special, a single immigrant mom with a limited budget.
Pictured: Little Edda Manriquez, white dress, pinata in hand. Pozole brewing in the background.
Book: "Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister
Everything seemed perfect- except it wasn’t. No kids showed up. And to top it all off, I wasn’t allowed to play on the playground lest I soil my dress. So there I was, beautifully dressed, filled with melancholia, sitting on the cement park chairs, feeling ever so alone- when a familiar voice sang my name behind me.
It was Mrs. Hurst, a kind and sweet teacher I had worked up the courage to invite. In her hands was the most beautiful wrapping paper I had ever seen in my life.
The colors exploded like prisms hit by sun rays. My eyes widened in disbelief. No one had ever given me a present like this. I patiently waited to open the gifts, and the first one I reached for was hers. As I tore the paper ever so carefully, I saw something else sparkle and glimmer, like an ocean opening up in my hands.
It was a book. My first book.
It was “Rainbow Fish.”
And I didn’t truly understand it fully that day. But that’s the day I became a storyteller. That’s the day I knew something in me had sparked. I wanted to tell these stories, and I wanted to be Rainbow Fish. I wanted to share the beauty of the world and share a part of myself to make it more beautiful.
What was the book that sparked this inside of you?
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