Gone Fishing

Big brothers prove bothersome, but little sisters are the worst! Don't believe me? Read Gone Fishing, a novel written in verse! I honestly couldn't have NOT read Gone Fishing (2013) which was written by Tamera Will Wissinger and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. It's a children's novel. It's poetry. It's fishing. Need I say more, except that you should read it?

Gone Fishing is mostly about Sam, a young boy who is very excited to be going on a fishing trip with just his father. However, Lucy, Sam's younger sister, manages to wriggle her way into the trip with her brother and father. Sam, who has been dreaming and planning for this trip, is not happy about this new development. The story takes place in the course of one day -- the actual fishing trip. Dad keeps the peace while Lucy causes trouble, has fun and out fishes her brother. While I don't want to give away a good ending, I will tell you that by the time of the fish dinner that evening, the story ends with fond memories for everyone involved.

The illustrations in Gone Fishing are nearly as fun as the story itself. Each illustration is an inset picture with no frame (except for two that are supposed to look like photographs taken and a frame around the dinner menu) that are scattered about the pages. Many stretch from one page to the next and several actually go "through" the text itself!

Gone Fishing's text is broken up by a multitude of different types of poetry. The story contains quatrains, cinquains, list poems, concrete poems, and more. Each different poetry style accentuates the point the author is trying to get across, such as the concrete poem, The Night Before Fishing, written in the shape of a fish above Sam, laying in his bed, dreaming of the upcoming trip. The author tells us whose poem is whose so that we, the readers, know whose point of view we're reading.

Where to start with my lessons?! I most certainly would read this to my kindergartners. Gone Fishing would be a wonderful introduction to different styles of poetry. Many of the poems rhyme and we could make anchor charts with rhyming words. We could practice some of the dramatic poems for three and perform them in class. There are list poems included, such as What To Pack? I think my kindergartners would enjoy creating their own list poems.

Additionally, Gone Fishing has a wonderful sequence to it. Some of the individual poems, such as What To Pack? do as well. My kindergartners and I would be creating timelines of the story, noting what comes first, next, then and last. We would make our own lists of what we would take on our own fishing trips...

I would definitely include Gone Fishing in my personal library. I would have to have a second copy to include in my classroom library. When you luck into a fun book like this, it's good to have a back up copy somewhere!