(NOTE: I was given a copy of this book but all opinions are my own.)
I know a fellow who absolutely loves to fish. All. The. Time. He spends every spare minute fishing — in rivers, reservoirs, ponds, streams, lakes. You name it, he fishes there.
Funny thing, he catches the fish and releases them. He never takes them home to eat. I never could understand the catch and release thing. Why spend all that time fishing if you never take any home?
Now, I think fish tastes nasty so you’d never catch ME eating fish! However, the way I see it, catch and release is like merely swinging a baseball bat and never standing at home plate and hitting a ball. A rather useless activity, if you ask me. (Fishing, not baseball.)
Even though I think fishing is a waste of time, it’s a great subject for a picture book! Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing by Amy Hest is one of those great picture books.
One day, Big Bear decided he was in the mood to go fishing.
He and Little Bear changed out of their pjs and dressed in their fishing gear. They put their fishing poles in a red wagon.
But before they left, Big Bear decided they needed to make blueberry scones. (Yum! They would definitely make fishing bearable!) They also decided to take a story book. Then they were off.
They waited and waited and waited.
No fish.
Big Bear decided it was time to eat the scones.
Then, they waited some more. Big Bear decided it was time to read some stories. Good idea.
Suddenly, they saw a fish! Wahoo!
It swam around and around and around.
Then it swam away. Oh no!
Big Bear decided it was time to go home so he pulled Little Bear home in the wagon. Then, Big Bear snuggled with Little Bear in a hammock and they took a nap.
There are several adjectives that describe this book: delightful, engaging, gentle, tender, soft, beautiful, endearing. It’s a perfect book to read as you snuggle with a grandchild.
Those words also describe the illustrations. One of my favorite illustrations is of Big Bear and Little Bear snoozing in the hammock with cone flowers growing nearby. I love napping. I love hammocks. I love cone flowers!
Another favorite is the very last one. After all is said and done, a fish comes back to the place where the bears were fishing and swims around. But alas, the bears don’t catch it because they are asleep. Sigh.
I love the ‘call and response’ of the text. Big Bear says something and Little Bear repeats it in agreement. Children learn by imitating the people around them. That’s called observational learning. So Little Bear learns what clothing is important to wear while fishing, what gear to use, what food to eat, what take, and that it’s important to be quiet so you don’t scare the fish away. And maybe most importantly, he learns that you don’t always catch fish when you go fishing. And that’s okay.
While Little Bear learns all of those things about fishing, so does the child who listens as you read the book. There are other lessons for kids to learn from this book: how to handle boredom, how to be patient, how to handle disappointment, and how to enjoy spending time with others. Now, don’t just assume kids learn those things automatically. You need to talk to them about those ideas, have a little conversation together. Don’t make it preachy. Just chat about them and be sure to ask your granddaughter what she thinks.
Sometimes, there are books that grandma just doesn’t like to read to her grandkids (for one reason or another). We had one book that our youngest son absolutely loved but it was like fingernails down the chalkboard of my soul. I HATED reading it almost as much as my son loved it. Well, you don’t have to worry. This book won’t be like that. Not at all. This book will be a joy for Grandma to read and a joy for grandkids to listen to.
I give this book a hearty two thumbs up!
Holiday House will release Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing on May 21. Mark it on your calendar so you won’t forget and so you can head over to Amazon to get a copy of this sweet, sweet book!
