Fishing in the Air

When I was student teaching I read my first Sharon Creech novel, and she quickly became one of my favorite authors. However, I am still unfamiliar with her picture books, other than Who's that Baby? When I saw her first picture book Fishing in the Air at the library, I didn't have to think twice before adding it to my stack.

The book recounts the story of a boy going fishing with his father, but it is not just about the actual fishing, it is about the whole experience. Leaving bright and early in the morning and including the conversations along the way. The dad has quite an imagination and inspires his son to see the world in a different way.

The composition of the pages was different, rather than being the same on every page - at times the watercolors swirled all over the pages, only leaving a small rectangle of text, while other pages had a lot of white space with a small image accompanying the text. However, the text always appeared in the same location on the pages, making the book form an overall cohesive feel.

I have to admit, when I read that the book was about a father-son fishing trip, I was not sure that I would like it all that much, since that experience is so far removed from my own. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I loved catching glimpses into this father-son relationship, as well as this specific bonding moment. This would be an excellent book to include in a genre study related to narrative writing, sharing the aspect of personal experiences with family.