The Adventures of Lily and Leon addresses the social stigma surrounding interracial relationships. The story is told in fun, lighthearted terms so the message is easily understood by a child. It’s a tale about two young fish, Lily, a beautiful white sea bass, and Leon, a sleek black sea bass, who meet under bumpy circumstances in the deep waters of the Green Gulf.
Peer pressure from Lily’s schoolfishfriends is fierce. Bonita warns Lily, “It’s wrong to swim with a dark-scaled fish when you are white-scaled.” Leon is confused and hurt because he’s not readily accepted by the fish community.
Lily is only happy when she’s dipping and diving in Dragon Fish Lagoon with Leon. She doesn’t understand why the color of their skin should be an issue. They are deeply affected by the opinion of the local fish, which nearly keeps them from developing a close friendship. Through their underwater games and adventures, and their brush with the dangerous Seafalcons, they’re able to learn, and teach others, that we’re all alike on the inside, even when we’re a different color on the outside.
Download The Adventures of Leon and Lily: A Soppy Fish Tale.
A Soppy Fish Tale
FIRST SMASHWORDS EDITION
Copyright © 2013 Cynthia Briggs
Cover design by Andrew Brown of Design for Writers