Fish [Hardcover]

Gregory Mone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2010 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 810L (What's this?)

The exciting adventure of a resourceful boy who discovers his hidden gift as a fortune-hunting pirate

Fish--nicknamed for his incredible swimming abilities--is a twelve-year-old boy from a poor farming family. After taking a job as a courier for his uncle, Fish is waylaid by pirates, who steal the package he's carrying. He soon learns that it's the key to locating the Chain of Chuacar, a legendary treasure. As he works to earn the trust of Cobb, the fortune-hunting captain of the Scurvy Mistress, Fish learns of a mutiny headed by a nasty pirate called Scab. With time running out to find the Chain, Fish and some fellow shipmates still loyal to Cobb must thwart Scab's dastardly plan.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8–"Fish" Reidy leaves his impoverished family farm in Ireland to be a messenger for his uncle in the city. When someone steals one of his deliveries, he swims after the thief's ship. He finds himself aboard the Scurvy Mistress, along with its determined treasure seeker Captain Cobb, the captain's wife, and a motley crew consisting of One-eyed Willies, British ex-Royal Navy men, and mutinous scalawags. The crew remains loyal to Cobb only as long as their stomachs and coffers stay full, and his idealistic decision to search for the legendary golden chain of Chuacar pushes the greedy first mate to stage an island mutiny. Fish draws on the skills he picked up from the crew members to rescue Cobb and those loyal to the captain. His boisterous and pungent shipboard adventures will sit well alongside favorites like Heather Vogel Frederick's The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed (S & S, 2002) and Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Scholastic, 1990). The sights and smells of life on the high seas, complete with descriptions of bathroom facilities, will give children new insight into this risky career path. Mone seamlessly integrates factual information into his tale of friendship, loyalty, and exploration. As Fish travels from farm to city to ship, he discovers his place in the world, and his moral compass helps to ground and direct the story. His decision not to engage in fighting and his efforts to stop the mutiny will provide points for group discussion. Fish makes a splashing good addition to adventure fiction.Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

For his first book for children, Mone digs from that most reliable of wells—the pirate adventure. Maurice, nicknamed Fish, is more at home in the water than on the fields of his Irish family’s farm, and after a few zigs and zags, he ends up as a swab-boy aboard the Scurvy Mistress. He learns that pirates break down into two camps: those who quest after legendary booty, like the noble Captain Cobb, and those, like first-mate Scab, who are only interested in bloody raids of every passing ship. Fish’s cleverness, courage, and underwater prowess get put to the test in a series of treasure mappings, sea battles, and traitorous mutinies. The humorous and slightly postmodern tint of the story is evident in the subspecies of grizzled rascals packed onto the ship, like the Scalawags of Sausage (cured-meat enthusiasts). Is it possible to have too many solid pirate yarns? Although this one doesn’t map out much new territory, it’s a good one to crowd onboard. Grades 3-5. --Ian Chipman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545116325
• ISBN-13: 978-0545116329
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gregory Mone was born on Long Island and now lives in Massachusetts with his wife and three children. And since he is the one writing this biography, he will stop referring to himself in the third person. I've written a few books and a stack of magazine articles about astronomy, robots, biology, surfing.

My published books are loosely about Einstein, Santa Claus, treasure hunting, and Titanic, in that order. Guess which one is nonfiction. I've also hacked out a few mediocre books, but I've kept those to myself. At some point, I'd like to write about Irish mythology and the evolution of the universe. Those will probably be two different projects, but it would be kind of funny to combine them.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book with unending adventure January 3, 2011

By Michelle Lynn Church

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of the first chapter books my kids have allowed me to read all the way through at bed time. They are 12 and most of the time don't want me to read a chapter book except for Captain Underpants (Which gets really old really fast). I picked this up on a whim at the library because it looked interresting on the shelf. It got to the point shortly into the book that my kids would get mad at me if I didnt read it one night. There is plenty of adventure and action in the story to entertain kids and adults alike and it keeps you wondering what will happen next and how everything will turn out in the end. You feel really invested in the characters and how they react to all the situations they get themselves into and what happens to them. The action starts almost from the very beginning of the book and is non stop until the end of the story. I had to go out and buy a copy for us to have on our bookshelf to read over and over because the library book had to be returned. I also sent a copy to my nieces and nephews so they could enjoy the story as much as we did. We had guests over the holidays (adults) who also said they really enjoyed the story as I was reading. I would highly recomment this book to anyone, kid or adult alike. A definite must read for every family.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Soaking-Good Seafaring Pirate Story! February 18, 2012

By NebraskaIcebergs

Format:Hardcover

Did you know there are both good and bad pirates? In Fish by Gregory Mone, when Fish (whose real name is Maurice) is forced to join the crew of The Scurvy Mistress, he doesn't know one kind of pirate from the other.

He also doesn't care. His sole mission is to retrieve the bag of gold coins which Nate had stolen from him. When the head pirate Cobb decides that his crew will sail their ship to lay in wait for a freighter bound for America, Fish launches his own "raid". He finds the gold coins that his uncle had entrusted him with and attempts to deliver them to their rightful owner. Unfortunately, Fish gets caught. In the interrogation that follows, Fish learns that some pirates are raiders while others are seekers. The "raiding" pirates believe that attacking every ship in the water is the swiftest way to fortune. (These are the bad pirates.) In contrast, "seeking" pirates prefer to undertake challenging quests. The Scurvy Mistress is manned by both types, a division which eventually leads to a mutiny.

Before Fish learns whose side everyone is on, or even figures out for himself which side he should take, he spends hours swabbing the decks of The Scurvy Mistress clean. Fish also fills his stomach with dreadful gruel and hardtack. And he sleeps on ragged bits of old sailcloth in one corner of the main cabin. If that doesn't sound too grand, why would Fish agree to stay? Well, earlier in the story, the family horse dies, and Mr. Reidy declares that one of their children will have to work in the city and send home money to help out. Unlike his eight other siblings, Fish is inept at farm work. For that reason, Fish is taken into town to work for an uncle. Fish is actually on the way to deliver a bag of coins that his uncle entrusted him with, when Nate robs him.... Being honorable, Fish pursues Nate--even when this means climbing aboard a menacing boat. Thus begins an adventure where Fish not only has to decide which pirates to defend, he also faces other choices. For example, should he interfere with Cobb's orders, when a fellow pirate is sentenced to walk the plank for betraying the crew? Or should he fight when challenged to a duel, despite his abhorrence of violence? Although Mone isn't blatant about themes, he does interweave into Fish the values of family, friendship, pacifism (which might seem like an oxymoron in a pirate book) and being true to self. Their subtle inclusion is part of what makes Fish stand out from typical adventure stories.

Time to talk treasure! Every good pirate story must include it. Fish is no exception. Initially, all that anyone on board knows is that head pirate Cobb seeks a treasure that will render the ship's treasure chest of coins "as worthless as pebbles and stones". Cobb also promises that every member of the crew will receive a share large enough to buy a herd of horses. That's enough to make Fish give up on the idea of retrieving that bag of coins his uncle gave him. Remember how I mentioned that there would be a mutiny? Well, the treasure also causes some divisions among the other crew members. To reveal anything beyond this little enticement would spoil your reading of Fish. What I can tell you is that in the years before Mone wrote Fish, he'd arrange treasure hunts for his nieces and nephews. Each hunt grew more elaborate and complex, until eventually his nieces and nephews asked Mone to write a pirate story. The result was Fish.

Before I conclude my review, I also need to praise the description in this book. It is so meticulous! For example, this is how Mone paints Fish's dive into the undersea world: "The line dragged him through a multicolored world full of purple, fernlike waving plants, giant yellow rocks covered with small grooves and challenges, fish of all shapes and colors." And here's how he portrays Cobb: "He was distinguished, with tightly curled gray hair, fine clothes, and the stem of an unlit pipe held between his lips. His ears were large, pressed back flat against his head, and his skin was tanned, with a faded but thick red scar on his chin. A thin, pronounced nose added to the air of nobility." As for the treasure, sorry, but I still can't tell you about it. Now I recognize that all this attention to details might bore those who grew up on video games of non-stop action and movies drowning in special effects. Most readers will however love the opportunity to settle into a rip-roaring tale of an unlikely hero on the high seas.

After all, what better adventure could one ask for than a soaking-good seafaring pirate story about a treasure hunt? There's even a dash of romance and humor. Just be sure that when you do borrow Fish, you can curl up for a long read. It's that good! Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An indisputable hit for 10-year-old youngest children July 10, 2011

By Douglas Bass

Format:Hardcover

I am writing on behalf of my 10-year-old daughter, who demanded that I acquire this book for her. She devoured this book over the course of a weekend. When I asked her why she enjoyed it, she mentioned that there was a never a boring stretch. There were always some interesting things going on. There was just enough historical consistency regarding pirate lore, pirate self-governance, pirate rules, etc., that when something was written that was probably not really historical, like Gustavo winning the creeping event in the world pirate skills competition, it wasn't really a problem.

Furthermore, both children and parents will appreciate the "not-fighting" skills that Fish, the main character, developed out of necessity. Any child who has older, belligerent siblings, will identify with the main character. While the professional reviews, mentioned anything between 3rd grade and 8th grade, I say that 5th grade, or going into 5th grade, is the sweet spot for this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Predictable, But Great Characters March 31, 2011

By Book Sake VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This books story is very predictable. You know who the bad guy is from the second chapter, but I guess it isn't a mystery book. I love all of the characters in the book as they are very unique and have wonderful personalities. There are actually a lot of characters in the book, so it's hard to remember every single one of them. It was easy for me to figure out how the book was going to end once I found out what the problem is, but to those that are younger, this might not be so obvious. Even though I found it an easy read, it was a lot of fun and I like all of the characters so much that if this book has a sequel, I would definitely want to read it.
Reviewed by Kole for BookSake.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An adventurous book! July 8, 2010

By Colin Matthew

Format:Hardcover

After the family horse dies, Fish, aptly named for his natural swimming ability, is sent from his family's farm to the city to earn money as a delivery boy. But after some mysterious coins that Fish was tasked with delivering get stolen, he inadvertently joins the crew of the Scurvy Mistress. Reluctant at first, Fish soon finds himself more at home on the sea than on dry land. He befriends his fellow pirates and naturally makes a few enemies just by being there. Now Fish must help the pirate captain unravel the clues leading to Chain of Chuacar, a valuable treasure not seen in many years, and prevent the mutiny being led by the first mate.

I typically don't think that young adult fiction and pirates are two things that go together considering that pirates aren't the most ideal role models for kids. However, this book does a good job of trying to stay faithful to pirate mythology while not encouraging the less favorable aspects of it. For example, after Fish is forced in to a fight, he opts to take a pacifistic approach in combat. His friend Daniel begins to teach him "non fighting" skills that reads as a form of mixed martial arts of some sort that is unnamed in the book. Speaking of naming things, there were a couple of small references in the book that annoyed me. Nora, the ship's cook, apparently invented the sandwich and the pirate named Jumping Jack invented a form of aerobics that he quickly named after himself. These aren't big deals but they broke the flow of the story. Kids who read this book and are less fact snobbish then myself probably wont care and may even find it amusing.

In the end this is a fun read for kids/young adults who are fascinated by pirates. The chapters are the perfect length and full of action and adventure. This is not a boring book.