The Biggest Fish in the Lake by Margaret Carney Illustrated by Jaent Wilson

Overview from Barnes and Noble: 

A young girl and her grandfather love spending time together fishing on the farm — talking, sharing stories or just listening to the wind as they wait for a bite. For her birthday, Grandpa gives her a brand-new fishing rod. And now, at the very beginning of bass season, they're off to the lake for her first grown-up fishing trip. She can't wait to catch a fish all by herself — maybe even the biggest fish in the lake! This lyrical tale celebrates nature, the bonds of loving, intergenerational relationships, and a child's first steps toward independence. The timeless illustrations capture the quiet pleasures and dramatic thrills of fishing. Together they serve as a reminder that there is more to life than simply landing "the big one."

My thoughts:

This was a nice book about how sometimes things can take a lot of practice and that even with a lot of practice there are things that we can't force.  Fish will bite when they bite or not bite at all, but the act of fishing and spending time in nature and with people you care about is the more important part of the activity.  I also liked how Grandpa threw some fish back so that there would be enough for everyone, he only took what they were going to eat and wasn't greedy about his catches.  One of the fish that is caught in the book is a muskie which we just saw in a tank at a sporting goods store, so it was a good tie in to a day trip we just took.

Details

•Pub. Date: March 2003

•Publisher: Kids Can Press, Limited

•Format: Paperback , 32pp

•Age Range: 5 to 8

•ISBN-13: 9781553375289

•ISBN: 1553375289

Meet The Author

Janet Wilson is a prolific and award-winning children's book illustrator. Her books include Jasper's Day and The Biggest Fish in the Lake. She lives in Eden Mills, Ontario, with her husband, Chris.

Margaret Carney shares her deep love of nature through weekly newspaper columns as well as her books for children, which include At Grandpa's Sugar Bush and The Biggest Fish in the Lake. She wrote Where Does a Tiger-Heron Spend the Night? with the hope of turning young children into birders before they can read. She lives in Whitby, Ontario.