Fishing - books to match a passion

Illustration by Anne Spudvilas from Joe's Boat.

As I mentioned I am working with some Grade 2 students assisting them with reading. One boy is a keen fisherman. He is so enthusiastic about this sport and can name all sorts of fish, bait and fishing locations.  I wanted to find a couple of simple fishing junior novels and some picture books to share with him. Sadly this has not been any where near as easy as I hoped.

Here are the the books I plan to show him.

Not a Nibble by Elizabeth Honey. CBCA Picture Book of Year 1997.
From the blurb: "Holidays at the beach mean camping, swimming, finding crabs, feeding the seagulls, walking, reading. Everyone has plans for things to do. Susie wants to catch a fish, but some people just aren't lucky at fishing. What she's lucky at is something quite unexpected and wonderful."
My favourite part of this story is the way Susie never gives up. She goes fishing day after day even though the others catch fish and she never does her optimism almost never fails.

Joe's boat by Raewyn Caisley illustrated by Anne Spudvilas.  From the Aussie Nibbles series.
Great Uncle Alan has died, but that was long ago. Joe and his dad arrive to sort things out but Joe can only focus on Alan's old boat and the promise of fishing with he great uncle's old friend Bob. Joe does catch a fish and the three of them enjoy a delicious meal on the beach.

Losing Reuben by Leonie Norrington illustrated by Beth Norling. From the MATES series.
From the blurb: "There are so many kids in Reuben's family that his mum has to count them! That way, no one gets left behind."
The whole family, mum, dad, nine kids and the new baby go prawn fishing. Dad and his brothers use a huge prawn net and Reuben has the difficult task of holding on - working as an anchor while the others drag the net out into the water. It is an exhausting day but Reuben overcomes his fear and the group catch lots of prawns which they enjoy eating on the beach. When it is time to go home mum counts the kids but Reuben is left behind. Were there 9 kids or perhaps 10?
Here are a set of teachers notes for Losing Reuben.

The Monster fish by Colin Thiele illustrated by Craig Smith. From the Solo series.
From the blurb: "It's time for the Big Boomer Fishing Contest! Ben's cousin Andy catches the biggest fish you ever saw - and then the most amazing thing happens."
Andy catches a huge snapper almost a metre long. It jumps into the boat which is amazing but the biggest shock is what comes next. A shark has been chasing the snapper. The shark grabs hold of the snapper with all the hooks and the line. The small boat almost capsizes. Sadly the shark, with the snapper in its teeth, breaks away. No one from the fishing competition believes this terrific tall tale.

Something Fishy by Geoff Patton illustrated by David Clarke. From the Kids & Co series.
"Con and I are going fishing. We're going to catch a shark. A big shark. A blue shark. A mean shark. we are tough."  But what bait should they use? Cat food = a cat fish; peanut butter = an elephant fish; bones = a dog fish; finally chips - no they don't work either.  Wait a minute - turn around boys - perhaps there was a shark in the river?

I did find this list of other titles which I also need to hunt out.

Image source: http://embarkonthejourney.com/lets-go-fishing-unit-study-and-free-printable/