16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for those who need it, April 27, 2005
This review is from: A Good Day's Fishing (Hardcover)
I am a librarian who loves the vast variety of humankind. I love knowing that when I walk down the street I could easily be walking past the greatest parachutist or professional kite flyer in the world, and I would never know. The hobbies and talents of the people of this world takes my breath away. Which makes reviewing a title like, "A Good Day's Fishing" an incredibly complex arrangement. First of all, I have never fished. Not a day of my life. This isn't because I dislike fishing or find it disgusting in some way. I've just never been a situation where someone handed me a pole and a tackle box and said, "Let's catch a few" (or words to that extent). Like many people I've flipped past fishing shows on PBS on cloudy Sunday afternoons and idly wondered who watches that stuff. But I have every respect for the people who enjoy the sport. Author James Prosek enjoys the sport. He enjoys it so much that he's written and illustrated multiple texts on trout, fly fishing, and other such topics. He's sort of the author/illustrator prodigy of the fish world. And now, at the grand old age of 29, he's switched his focus to children's books. No matter how big an author, no matter what their specialty, sooner or later everyone tries to write a book for kids. And that's where I come in. Looking "A Good Day's Fishing" over, I was baffled. As I've mentioned, I'm not exactly experienced in the hobby. I mean, I really enjoyed the recent children's book by Cynthia DeFelice, "The Missing Manatee", that outlines fishing in great exciting detail. But a picture book that simply catalogues the things you need to catch yourself a crappie or a pumpkinseed sunfish.... let's just say that there's a very specific type of child that's going to find this book enthralling.
Now the book follows a kid as he goes through his tackle box and tells the reader that, "what I need for a good day's fishing is in here somewhere!". We look at various lures and the fish each one is adept at catching. There are spinners for yellow perch and bobbers and sinkers to catch carp. We see extra line and a wide range of hooks (which, the hero notes, are cool) alongside forgotten maggoty sandwiches (my favorite part, actually) and a stray eel. There are rods and plugs and flies and lures. And finally, "my hat", which ends the text. We are then treated to a large lure and fly glossary that tells you absolutely every last little thing you ever needed to know about the equipment listed in the book.
This kind of book is so specialized that I cannot really recommend it to anyone who ISN'T downright fascinated by fishing. But if your child leaps at the chance of standing alongside large bodies of water with their own little tacklebox, then I can think of no book better than this one. Admittedly, I'm a little baffled as to why this book got on the New York Public Library's 2004 100 Books to Remember list. It's too specific to please a great many people (and frankly, if you're not a fisherperson yourself, the glossary reads like stereo instructions). But Prosek's put his heart into it, and it shows. Wielding his watercolor brush with great panache he's as adept at drawing the tiniest little white maggot as he is a largemouth bass gunning for a plug. This is a lovely book to look at. And detailed out the wazoo.
So if you like fishing and want your kids to like it (or they already do) then this is the perfect picture book for them. If you've merely a mild interest in the sport, however, avoid this book at all costs. For those that need it, nothing else will do. For those that don't, there are other fishies in the sea.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Day Reading, January 17, 2008
This review is from: A Good Day's Fishing (Hardcover)
Prosek's beautiful watercolors augment a whimsical tour through the fisherman's tackle box. Each piece of hardware and lure is considered in relation to the sort of fish it is designed to catch. The store culminates in finding the lucky talisman familiar to most fishermen, a lucky hat. I enjoyed reading this to my six-year-old son who exclaimed at the end of the story, "I can't wait for us to go fishing again." That's a sentiment sure to warm the heart of any father looking to get his child excited about the sport he enjoys.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Son Loves this Book! Authetic & Accessible!, June 19, 2008
This review is from: A Good Day's Fishing (Hardcover)
I have scoured our local library and purchased 5-6 children's books on fishing from Amazon -- this one ranks very near the top ("H is for Hook" also get's high marks for illustrations and condensed version of text, and "Gone Fishing" is a nice read from a father/son narrative perspective).
I have to admit that after reading the editorial reviews I was a little afraid the author would be a bit snooty (the whole Yale Angler thing) and too trout obsessed (previous publications for adults) -- but this book is very accessible and speaks to a wide audience. I love the way he uses the tackle box to introduce different fishing techniques and conquests.
The illustrations are detailed, authentic, and beautiful. My husband loved finding his favorite lures depicted and described.
We haven't gone fly fishing with my two year old yet, but he has caught a few crappy (which get equal attention in this book) and he has decided his favorite fish is the "wide mouth bass," based largely on Prosek's amazing illustration of this species.
I highly recommend this book!
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