With unique silver illustrations silk-screened by hand on handmade paper Hand-crafted in every way, this loving retelling of an ancient India fable that will resonate across cultures features intricate, passionate art that captures with great power the original drama of the tale. Hand-bound book and letter pressed, LEGEND OF THE FISH is a tribute to the fine art of book-making, as it was practised once upon a time. Brahma, the creator, is unhappy with the world he has made from his own mind. It is perfect, yet because it is perfect, it lacks death, and therefore life. At his bidding, Vishnu, the preserver, goes down into the new world to set it right. Taking the form of a fish, he finds the man who can help him start afresh, and re-create a living world. Readers of this archaic myth of flood and resurrection will recognise universal parallels in other cultures, while the intense and intricate art captures the cosmic sweep of the story.

 

This book was recognised in the Book Arts Craftsmanship category by the Independent Publisher Book Award.

There are 34 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2003 by Tara Books .

Sirish Rao has written a number of children's books and also co-authored (with Gita Wolf) retellings of several myths and fables, Antigone being one of them. He wrote his first novel, Real Men Don't Pick Peonies at the age of 22. He has also contributed to An Ideal Boy and Baby!, two books on Indian popular imagery published by Dewi Lewis (both available from Turnaround). Gita Wolf, co-author of numerous handmade children's books, including In the Dark, Sophocles' Antigone and The Tree Girl, also adapted Hensparrow Turns Purple from a classic Indian folktale. Anupama Moharkar teaches in Bangalore, India. She wrote this book while at the elephant sanctuary in Mudumalai, South India, where Kutti and his friends come from. Emanuele Scanziani, originally from Italy, is an artist and freelance illustrator who has illustrated the well-known Shikra series of books on environmental awareness, and The Gita of Waste, a handbook on recycling. He is known for his stunning line drawings for the collectors' edition The Legend of the Fish (also available from Turnaround).