Who is Han Galt? A review of "The Fisherman's Catch"

Today I received in the mail a delightful new children's book, The Fisherman's Catch by Thomas Wright. Mr. Wright emailed to ask if I'd review his new "Conservative Bedtime Story" and of course I said yes.

I let Sophie read it first. She was immediately thrilled by the absolutely amazing artwork. Each vibrant illustration helps the story leap from the pages. And to her credit she got the point of the story right away.

Han is a simple fisherman and each day he catches a few fish and brings them back to his village. He keeps a couple of fish for his family and trades the rest with the villagers. They give him many things for his fish because it takes so much time and effort to catch each one.

One day Han perfects a new way to catch fish. And he suddenly is catching more fish than ever before. So much fish in fact that he can now sell them to everyone in the village, even the poorest people. A plentiful supply of fish means Han can charge much less for each one.

Everyone is happy! Well, almost everyone. The village Chief notices that Han is far more prosperous than everyone else. "Why," the Chief asks, "does Han have so much while others have nothing?"

Sound familar? But no, even though the story is set on a island very much like Hawaii, it doesn't mean the Chief is played by Barack Obama. Maybe a cousin or a nephew…

Anyway, Big Chief Compassion takes it upon himself to tax Han half his daily catch. The line in the book is "for the good of the village." Sophie's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she read it. That's my girl! And when the Chief seized the fish over Han's objections she exclaimed "that's not right!"

You can guess what happens next. Even though the Chief swore he would only give fish to the truly needy it turned out that a lot more people decided they were "needy" than he had anticipated. Pretty soon most of the villagers are lounging around waiting for their daily delivery of free fish.

Yeah, that Chief is sounding a lot more like Lyndon Johnson…

One day Han Galt decided he'd had enough. A friendly traveler told him of a distant village, a land of opportunity, where nobody confiscates anyone's fish and everyone helps each other to succeed. Han packs his bags and leaves the village.

The Chief is not amused.

Mr. Wright delivers a powerful lesson in a format that is suitable for all ages. People work hardest when they're working for themselves! And of course, layabouts never get ahead.

By the end of the story the village where Han and his new friends now live is thriving. Han's old village is deserted. And the Chief is totally befuddled because his Social Security checks keep bouncing.

The Fisherman's Catch ought to be required reading in the White House and the halls of Congress. There are no big words so even a Democrat who went to public school should be able to understand it. Mr. Wright helpfully includes some thought-provoking questions for discussion at the back of the book, too.

We had a lot of fun talking through them over dinner. You will too. Buy this book for the kids in your life. Buy this book for the politicians in your life too. It's a message that we all need to hear, delivered via a fantastically fun and enjoyable story.

The Fisherman's Catch : A Conservative Bedtime Story
by Thomas Wright
illustrated by Heather Dixon
32 pages
Available for $15.95 (plus s/h) from the publisher here.

FTC Disclaimer: The publisher sent me a free copy of the book to review.

UPDATE 16 Mar 2011 08:18:
Linked by Theo Spark.

Thanks!

Posted at 20:18 by Chris Wysocki   [/reviews]   Comments | Perm Link |
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