Granddad's Fishing Buddy - Hardcover

Stphane Jorisch has illustrated numerous picture books, including the critically acclaimed Betty Bunny series, New Year at the Pier, Granddads Fishing Buddy, The Real Story of Stone Soup, and Jabberwocky, for which he won the prestigious Governor Generals Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Caldecott. Mr. Jorisch lives with his wife and three children in Montreal, Canada.

Kindergarten-Grade 3—Sara is visiting her grandparents at their lakeside cottage. When she hears Granddad getting up early in the morning, she jumps up, too, and inquires where he's going. Fishing with his buddy, he says, and Sara convinces him to take her along. As they row across the lake, Sara keeps looking for the buddy, but Granddad just waves to all the other fishermen. She masters her angling skills, with the exception of putting the worm on the hook (she uses a piece of licorice instead). A heron appears and plucks a fish out of the water. Granddad instructs Sara to row over to it and they both start catching fish. When the bird moves to a new location, they follow. Sara realizes that Granddad's fishing buddy is the heron; he stirs up the fish as he wades through the shallows. By the book's end, Granddad has a new fishing buddy: Sara, of course. Done in pencil, watercolor, and gouache, the illustrations are perfect for the tone of the story. The early-morning lake scene is suitably foggy and clears up as the day progresses. The characters, with their bright clothing and smiling faces, stand out nicely from the green and gray tones of the watery backdrops. A pleasing choice for intergenerational sharing.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI
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