Monday, March 24, 2014

Gone Fishing

Wissinger, Tamara Will. 2013. GONE FISHING: A NOVEL IN VERSE. Ill. by Matthew Cordell. Toronto: HMH. ISBN 0547820119 [Suggested Grade Levels 1 - 5]

REVIEW
Tamara Will Wissinger’s novel is verse is a grab bag of poetry styles made into a fun novel.  At first, Sam doesn’t want his sister, Lucy, to go fishing with him and his dad, but Lucy talks her way into it.  Will it be a complete nightmare, like Sam imagines?  Who will catch the most fish?  Will it even matter in the end?  Wissinger uses all sorts of poetic forms: haiku, how-to, switcheroo, and many more to create a complete story with a happy ending.

Matthew Cordell’s sweet caricature-like illustrations throughout this novel in verse help keep this story sweet and light.  The drawings are simple black and white with grey watercolor shading.

After the story, the reader is presented with a “Poet’s Tackle Box,” explaining all sorts of ideas about poems and poetry.

CONNECTIONS
Have students write a poem about an activity to do with their parent/guardian/grandparent. 
Discuss the different types of poetry used throughout the novel.  Assign students different styles to find in other poetry books or even have them create some on their own.

RELATED BOOKS
Shannon, David. JANGLES: A BIG FISH STORY. ISBN 0545143128
Creech, Sharon. LOVE THAT DOG. ISBN 0756913802

By Lisa M. Zinkie

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